"blotchy" soundboard

[Terry]

Sounds like you've already gotten pretty aggressive with it. Why not just
refinish it? A soundboard goes pretty fast and is easy to make it look
great. Is the board any good?

Terry Farrell


> I'm restringing my customer's 1926 Wurly Baby grand. After removing all
the
> old wire and pins, I began the lengthy cleaning/detailing process. This
had
> to be just about the dirtiest, dustiest piano I've ever encounterd...and
> i've seen some pretty bad ones. Anyway, After removing and vacuuming the
> loose debris from the soundboard, i started cleaning the decades of dirt
and
> grime away, and started to notice that certain areas were getting
"brighter"
> and lighter than others, although I was using uniform pressure on the
board.
> I used (as I always have with excellent results) Howard's
restore-a-finish,
> neutral color, with 0000 steel wool. So now I'm left with a very Blotchy,
> light/dark soundbaord. I'm not sure if the remaining dark areas are just
70+
> years of dirt and grime, or whether it's supposed be dark, and that the
> lighter areas are the result of too much rubbing...I'm pretty sure  it's
the
> former.
>
> I need some recommendations as to what would be the most effective cleaner
> that would most easily cut through the layers of gunk to expose the
original
> "honey" color?  I was thinking about Murphy's Oil soap, but I'm guessing
> that won't be strong enough for this job. what about some kind of solvent
> that will quickly break up the grime, but not harm the wood, or varnish,
> what's left of it anyway.
> Also, Any tips for cleaning between hitch pins? I'm afraid that a wire
brush
> will scratch the plate; and a paint brush won't remove the almost black 70
> year build up; solvent there too? Thanks list!!!
> Terry Peterson