A remedy for Verdigris

[Ron Nossaman]

> Hey all
>  I know ...I know there is no remedy for verdigris .... except a new 
> parts transplant... but the other day my 83 year old Dad & I were 
> looking a perfectly useable set of vintage Steinway wippens except for 
> the mild case of creeping green crud so, We were lamenting having to 
> toss a beautiful set of original *_Steinway wippens_* in the trash. We 
> started brainstorming how we could solve this given the contamination is 
> in the wood.  Now I know many of us have re-pinned & re- bushed ...put 
> on new flanges etc. & in the end all for nothing as it returns, But with 
> a good set of wippens approaching 1000 bucks the idea has my attention.
>   I told my Dad I was thinking about how to cut out the birds eye & then 
> machine a new insert with birds eye & all. My thought was that if the 
> new insert was put in with epoxy that this would act as a verdigris 
> barrier from entering back into the new wood. Then My Pops says "why not 
> just coat the existing birds eye with epoxy & slide a coated pin thru 
> the hole to seal up the exposed inner wood which should prove de a 
> barrier to any further contamination". Then pin on new flanges. *I 
> thought the idea had merit.
> *  I mean for a few short hours of pinning & coating an original set of 
> beautifully made & machined  maple wippens could be preserved & re-used 
> at any level of performance required. 
>   How bout some discussion.
>   Dale

Trying to salvage an existing installation, maybe, with a big 
pile of disclaimers up front, and enough cash to buffer the 
potential backlash, with another pile of disclaimers on 
receipt of the check. With a rebuild, no bloody way. Verdigris 
is Steinway Herpes, by my assessment. Pending historically 
unlikely evidence to the contrary, it's forever. With the 
professional, if not the physical self on the line, replace 
the parts. If the affected parts being *original Steinway 
wippens* is such a big deal, have them bronzed and mounted as 
a monument in a local park, but don't guarantee the bronzing 
will stick to the green stuff for long. Sell 'em on E-Bay, or 
donate 'em to a church (without the piano) for a retail value 
tax write off. Whatever, but I think a potentially nice piano 
deserves reasonably high potential parts.

Opinions, no doubt, will vary.
Ron N