[Brumtuner]

Prior to working on customers' actions, I use compressed air to remove the crud, but when doing one up to sell, use the shot-blaster.

Am I to be frowned upon by the 'traditionalists' for doing this?

I use kiln dried sand - the sort used for dressing block paving, cheap and plentiful and fine enough to make the parts look like new without wrecking the wood or felts. For obvious reasons I keep the blast well away from hammer noses.

If I get slated, will it stop me?

Of course it will.

[mdw]

I seem to remember hours cleaning action parts with rags dipped in oxalic acid!!!! No gloves at college. Oh what fun health and safety would have today. I seem to remember when I bought a bottle of the powder years ago it had lots of orange crosses and skull and cross bones on it!!!!
How does the saying go, what doesnt kill you only makes you stronger.


By the way Ive always wondered how many of us techs are asmatics. All the crap we breathe in every time the hammer hits the string directly under our noses.
I am and have been for about the last 18 years. ( tech for 23 years)

[Barrie Heaton]

Egg shells are very good for blasting action parts the problem with sand like on the beach it get into places you wish it did not like between the birds eye and the flange, because Egg shells partials are bigger less of a problem but more expensive.


I to never used gloves with oxalic acid it works best when hot but if you have a cut on your hand you soon know about it. We played around with oxalic acid and ammonia the fumes nearly killed us and oxalic acid with 80% HP gets things clean but again the fumes are deadly.

We use to keep the oxalic acid in a tin at one place were I worked and one of the guys thought it was sugar he got a very bad case of gastroentritus he was lucky

One guy was stripping varnish and had some striper on his boiler suit he visited to the loo talk about eye watering

Heath and safety would have a field day now

Barrie,
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Barrie Heaton
Web Master UK Piano Page

[Tom Tuner]

The sand-blasting method (on not too high pressure) with white silica sand has worked well for me. It will leave a frosted finish on metal items, so you might want to keep it off spoons, for instance.

[Big Bird]

I don't know if it available over in the UK, but over here there are guys offering a mobile service that instead of using sand uses baking soda.

It is used mainly for removing paint from old cars, but baking soda is a flake type material that disintegrates on impact and is therefore not nearly as harsh as sand on a rusty old car, probably be easier on old piano bits too?
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Gustav Hagspiel 5'10" Burl Walnut Baby Grand Serial #: 980
Melbourne Australia
See it at: www.myspace.com/harryg73