Spotty Kawai

[Diane Hofstetter]

Terry,
  You have a good point.  I once tried polish on the lowest bass string of a 
rental piano, that's exactly what happened, it turned tubby.  If I had 
splashed the polish over the strings, it would have left grey spots.

  Diane


>From: Terry Neely <tlneely@mindspring.com>
>Reply-To: pianotech@ptg.org
>To: pianotech@ptg.org
>Subject: Re: Spotty Kawai
>Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 07:06:15 -0400
>
>Could it possibly be that someone tried to clean the copper with some 
>chemical
>cleaner to remove oxidation (brown color on copper) from finger prints left 
>from
>stringing? This might leave a grey colored deposit and cause tubby sounding
>strings.
>
>DGPEAKE@AOL.COM wrote:
>
> > Dear Friends and Collegues,
> >
> > A couple of weeks ago I serviced and tuned a Kawai UST-8 Studio in a
> > customers home. When I opened up the case, I noticed grey spots on the 
>bass
> > strings. I then realized that they sounded very tubby. In the lower 
>corner of
> > the tenor section, there was a litte rust, so I came to the obvious
> > conclusion that the piano had been in a very humid enviroment.
> >
> > The customer purchased it new from a local dealer in 1992. She claims it 
>has
> > always been next to a outside wall. She never put a plant on it or 
>anything
> > that was humid.
> >
> > What puzzles me is about the grey spots got on the strings. I tend to 
>think
> > it is a humidity problem, but I have never see humidity to this to the
> > strings. Rust, yes. Grey spots no.
> >
> > I asked her if she ever painted the house with latex or shampooed the 
>carpet
> > lately. She said she did shampoo the carpet, and I told her that it 
>could be
> > a major contributor to the condition of the piano.
> >
> > I have been corresponding to Don Mannino at Kawai about the situation. 
>If we
> > can determine that the strings are defective from the factory,  they 
>will
> > provide the strings and pay me the labor to replace them. If we cannot 
>prove
> > it is a factory situation, they will provide the free stings, but the
> > customer is responsible for the labor.
> >
> > My client is not being unreasonable and is willing to pay for the 
>replacement
> > if we cannot determine the strings are defective. I told her I would ask 
>the
> > pianotech list for some ideas.
> >
> > My question is have you ever encountered a situation with spotty 
>strings?
> > What do you think?  Your help will be much appreciated.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> >
> > Dave Peake, RPT (glad to be back on the list)
> > Portland Chapter
> > Oregon City, OR
> > www.davespianoworks.locality.com
>

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