Polishing bass strings

[James Grebe]

Just wondering how one of those Flitz cloths would work on copper to get 
them shiny again.

James Grebe
Piano-Forte Tuning & Repair
Creator of Handsome Hardwood Caster Cups
(314) 608-4137
WWW.JamesGrebe.com
1526 Raspberry Lane
Arnold, MO 63010
BECOME WHAT YOU BELIEVE!
pianoman@accessus.net
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ron Nossaman" <rnossaman@cox.net>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 9:21 PM
Subject: Re: Polishing bass strings


>
>>Ok, you've had your fun. Now kindly lower yourselves to my level and 
>>respond to an honest question by an RPT with over 30 years of experience. 
>>Knowing my name won't help you answer my question.
>
> No, but showing up as an actual person with a real identity when you are 
> asking for help might just possibly give you some credibility and 
> validation you don't automatically have from behind the curtain. 
> Contributing, is the apparent implication that after 30 years, this has 
> just now come to your attention and become a concern. But perhaps I judge 
> too quickly.
>
>
>>I'm talking about new or new-ish strings with some discoloration due to 
>>someone's fingers straying where they shouldn't, as well as brightening-up 
>>those strings that don't need to be replaced yet.
>
> Thank you. That's helpful, and puts it in a specific category.
>
>
>>By the way, under my care is a Steinway "D" that came from the factory (in 
>>other words "brand-spanking new") with some sort of oxidation running 
>>across 6-8 strings. It looks as though someone took a sweaty hand and just 
>>wiped it across them.
>
> That's most likely exactly what happened. I've seen plenty of instances of 
> just this in dealers' showrooms, and in the new owners' living rooms after 
> the sale.
>
>
>>And who among us hasn't left fingerprints on a newly-installed set of bass 
>>strings?
>>
>>Or perhaps technicians at your level don't do that sort of thing.
>
> I haven't, as far as I know. This has nothing whatsoever to do with my 
> "level" as a technician. It has everything to do with my personal bodily 
> chemistry and the severe lack of moisture in the epidermis of my digital 
> appendages - a condition that has no acknowledged snob value that I'm 
> aware of, just nuisance value when my fingertips split and bleed all 
> winter.
>
> To answer your question, I don't typically try to polish wrapped strings, 
> so I don't have a fool-proof answer for you. I do, however, question the 
> assumption that scratching the copper is necessarily undesirable. I can't 
> see where it would hurt a thing unless you chewed it up badly with 
> something coarse and abrasive, or generated loose liquid, dust, or fibers 
> that would get into the wrap. So if I was going to try and minimize big 
> purple hand prints on new bass strings, I'd scrub them down with a dry 
> Scotch Brite pad and hope for the best. If that didn't work, I'd learn to 
> love big purple hand prints.
>
> My name's in the header. Who am I talking to?
>
> Ron N
>
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