Hi Judy-my comments are interspersed below. jstuart1 wrote: > Hi everyone, > > This baby grand is in rough shape, it has been stored in a very humid > area for a few months (best guess). I ended up with it to use to learn > about grands. The strings will all have to be replaced as they are > rusted the whole length of the string. I did find it curious though that > the base strings did not seem to suffer this fate. In the base the > strings are clean and shiny at the hitch pins and the tuning pins. Since > I can't see under the windings though and judging from the other strings > I have decided to replace them anyway. Heck I need to learn to size and > replace them sometime. Interestingly though, the action appears in great > shape. The springs and hinge pins do not appear to have any rust on them > what so ever. In fact all of the metal parts of the action are still > clean and shiny. I also do not see any warping of the hammer shafts. A > few of the keys stick down when you push them. This may be humidity > damage or the remainder of the junk that didn't fall out from under them > when we moved the piano. The harp is in good shape but the gold color is > quite dull like in an old upright. The cabinet does not have any vaneer > comming loose or damaged nor any scratches to speak of. The sound board > and bridges do not have any cracks. Inspection of the action reveals > that this piano has hardly been played. From what I can tell so far, the > humidity definitly rusted the strings and probably caused the staining > of the sound board. I am not really sure yet what else it may have > effected. > > I am looking for some suggestions for cleaning the sound board See below > . Can I > remove all of the strings at once since I have to replace them anyway. Yes, measure all the wire sizes for the tenor-treble sections then remove the damper heads, and then start at the bass end and lower the pitch of one pin for each note a 3/4 turn all the way up to #88, then turn around and go the other way until you get to the lowest double string, then go the other way to finish. This will loosen the beckets enough to pry them out with a small screwdrive against the top of the pin. Cut the pin coils off and pull the wires gently out from the agraffes and capos. Watch they don't snap back on you innoculate you with the sharp cut ends. Wear safety glasses! > > What is the best cleaning agent to use on the soundboard. The best thing to do is use a cabinet scraper to remove the old finish and put a new one on. Look in the archive for a recent discussion on this. Various solvents are not really good for the board. There are several paste cleaners used on old furniture that give a uniform result, but don't usually take out really bad stains. If you use these, remove the residue with a damp towel containing a mild detergent afterwards. Have a fan blowing on the area so no great quantity of fluid gets into the glue joints of the board. > Is there any > hope for restoring a decent color tone to the harp without having to > remove and refinish it. Once you get the strings out you can clean the paint surface with mineral spririts and wet and dry sandpaper or steel wool just to get the gunk off, then mask the case, put golf tees into the tuning pin holes and newspaper on the soundboard, taping everything down good then put a couple of coats of gold laquer and one of clear after the gold is dry. If the old paint is flaking, you'll have to sand until you have something solid. Don't sand the black off. Big problem! > I am not currently set up for something like > that. I realize this piano is probably a junker but from a learning > standpoint, it is needs a lot of work that I have til now put off > learning how to do. With it being a baby grand, it will give me the > chance to learn on one in the privacy of my shop without damaging > someone elses. Even if the piano ends up in the burn pile, I want to do > everything I can to it to take full advantage of the learning > opportunity. > > Judy Good attitude Judy. Most of us started somewhere in there -- Warren Fisher RPT Beginners & Lurkers fish@Communique.net Basic Pianotech discussed 1422 Briarwood Dr. Ask any question. Slidell, LA 70458-3102 fish@gs.verio.net
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