Greg Livingston said: "Dear Friends, Today I tuned a 1920's grand with really rusty strings. Not wanting to add to my troubles, I put a dab of 3 in 1 Oil at each becket and on either side of every agraffe with a Q tip. The piano was very sharp, and I break far fewer strings lowering the pitch compared to raising the pitch. Do you do this? I read once that you should put Liquid Wrench with a pipe cleaner at every becket, but I did that once and the whole house stunk for hours. Ergo, the Three In One. Also, for really rusted strings in a grand, have you ever wiped all the strings with an oily rag, just to reduce the chances of a broken string? It seems like a good idea but I await the judgement of my colleagues. Thanks,..." Greg, Although the concept is acceptable, (I do it), the "oil" you are using is not! There are many "stories" about what to use, but I've only found one that I use with confidence. That oil is LPS-1. It is a very light lubricant that does not creep and doesn't strick around for very long. It comes in a spray can, but it's best to apply with a small artist's brush from the cap filled with LPS-1. I know that there are those who use Protech or some such, but, I've tried that and don't like it as well as LPS-1. The company has been around for a very long time. I was introduced to this "oil" by Darrel Fandrich, when I was still an apprentice. The company makes other things like Contact Cleaner, (for electronics, etc.) and many other things for the mechanical trades. I purchase it from my local Ace Hardware Store. I've used it to retard rust on strings & casters of pianos that were in a flood! 3 in 1 oil will hang around and collect dust and lint, just as WD-40 will, (that is Fish Oil!). Liquid Wrench is a penetrating Oil and will creep all over the place, just like Silicone. Both, of which should not be any where near strings and tuning pins, IMHO. Regards, Joe Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon) Captain, Tool Police Squares R I -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100926/2dbd8d85/attachment.htm>
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