After finally tiring of my sticky D above middle C (and possibly one other) I took the keyboard out of my Clavinova CLP-200.

There was a fair amount of old grease (stuck with hair / dirt / etc.) between the keys which I cleaned off with Windex on the recommendation of a Yahama tech here in the US.

The bad news is that the action of removing the keyboard (and / or turning it upside down several times in the process of cleaning the keys) has resulted in many more sticky keys (usually blacks, but a few whites are slow to rise also). This persists, even after cleaning the sides of all of the keys.

Following the actions of one poster on this forum, I bent the springs (that bring the hammers / keys back up) beyond their natural resting position, resulting in stiffer key presses, but those keys now rise.

My question is, on this now 25 year old model (I believe the CLP-200 is circa 1986) is it likely the existing grease has completely deteriorated (it feels sticky to the touch). I've purchased some SuperLube 21030 Synthetic Grease, but could do with a little advise as to whether its worth removing the old stuff and re-applying the new stuff (or if it's worth ordering the hammer grease from Yamaha instead, and if one *really* needs both the high and low viscosity blends for the back pivot points vs. the key guides respectively).

Is there an off the shelf higher viscosity oil anyone can recommend for the hammer pivot points in lieu of ordering from Yamaha?

Does synthetic grease break down after 25 years, or is it just the combination of dirt mixed in? I was advised (by Yamaha tech) the tensioned strips of metal aren't to blame and are unlikely to fail in that amount of time.

Thanks, Duncan

Call in a local, Yamaha-qualified tech. I had a sticky key. He fixed it.

It's not necessarily what's stuck between the keys. In my case it was the lube under the key-front ... accessible only after removing the key.

But this is a CLP200. It's current value is likely less than the cost to have it repaired.

I'd guess you are going to have to completely disassemble the key action, clean each part of all old lubricant, re-lube and re-assemble. The type of lubricant likely has an effect on the feel of the key action. That tech was right, don't mess with springs. I would not use anything stronger than warm water and liquid dishwashing soap and a tooth brush but you mmight have to resort to alcohol if the gunk is really dried on. Don't use anything mechanical or a solvent that can soften plastic because I thnk the "feel" depends on the surface texture of the moving parts. I doubt this will be a five minute job.

That said. I'd take this as an excuse to finally buy a new piano, or even a less old used piano. Anything made in the current millennia will out perform an 80's vintage DP.

Spraying the keyboard mechanism with windex will destroy it, as you've found out. You should have carefully cleaned off the one sticking key with a toothpick, using no liquids.