[pianotech] water damage

[Joseph Garrett]

Ryan,
That was the short version.<G> 
Best Regards,
Joe

Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon)
Captain, Tool Police
Squares R I



----- Original Message ----- 
From: Ryan Sowers 
To: joegarrett at earthlink.net;pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: 8/3/09 9:30:02 PM 
Subject: Re: [pianotech] water damage


WOW! Whadda story, Joe! Its amazing sometimes what a piano can take!!


On Mon, Aug 3, 2009 at 9:12 PM, Joseph Garrett <joegarrett at earthlink.net> wrote:

Jack,
You do run into some interesting stuff, buddy. Here's my take on this stuff. I bought a Yamaha P-2 that had been in a Gymnasium fire. It was in 2 feet of water and the roof, afire, fell on the piano. This caused the keys to combust and also the treble end caught fire. The major amount of damaged was caused after the piano was extracted, via fork lift, and placed in the parking lot. Some well meaning soul opened the lid to "let the piano dry/air out"!!! It rained that night and pretty much trashed the dampers and expanded the hammers. I had to replace the dampers intoto. The hammers were salvageable and were simply surfaced. Best sounding Yamama I've heard in ages!!<G> Nice and mellow tone with nice fundamental!<G> The strings were sprayed with LPS-1, which dispels water and changes rust to a white powder. This was done a week after the fire, in the process of taking the piano COMPLETELY apart so that all parts were able to dry without any influence from other parts, etc. The short version is: I gave it to my daughter 12 years after the fact, as I didn't feel good about selling it, even tho it was now better than a new yamama, imho. My daughter has had that piano for over 20 years with no problems what so ever!! Bottom line: Those Yamamas are tough Mamas!!!
In your case, I suspect the dampers will need to be replaced, possibly the strings need to be replaced. However, I'd bet that the pinblock is okay, once it dries out. I suspect the action will need some major work, but all worth it and doable, IMHO.<G> BTW, stains don't affect tone, the last time I checked. <G>
Regards,
Joe


Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon)
Captain, Tool Police
Squares R I





-- 
Ryan Sowers, RPT
Puget Sound Chapter
Olympia, WA
www.pianova.net
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