The brass wheels, pedals, and name on the fallboard and on the side of my piano have all become tarnished over the years. I'm afraid to use regular brass polisher on it in fear that it would affect the finish of the wood around it (especially for the fallboard and name on the side - I think I can be careful with the pedals and wheels).

What do you recommend to get it back to the bright brass finish?

Morodiene,

For the wheels and pedals, I'd use a product called Flitz, a standard in the industry. For the fallboard and side piano names, do NOT use Flitz but I can't tell you what you should use.

Morodiene,

I've used Brasso before on my pedals without issue. However, I did apply some masking tape around the wood to ensure none of the product touched the wood. A little bit of being careful did the trick and the pedals look great!

Good luck!

Good to know! I have some Brasso, so I'll give that a try with the tape idea.

Anyone have ideas for the inlaid brass?

Make sure you use "painters" masking tape-
will leave little to no residue when
removed.

For the inlay, I would use q-tips and
a steady hand.

Q-tips are quite abrasive and could affect the surrounding finish. Very gentle buffing with a dry micro-fiber cloth might add a little "sparkle." Check with the manufacturer for their recommendation.

Be really sure that it is inlaid brass! Most of the time what looks like inlaid brass is just a thin decal with a clear coat over it. If it's a decal any attempt to polish it will destroy it. You might want to contact the manufacturer of your piano if you aren't sure. I'd advise you to leave the fallboard alone. You can't hurt the other solid (uncoated) brass parts though.

On the fall board brass letters on my pianos, I took some 0000 steel wool with some water/dish-soap mixture (for lubrication and to prevent excessive scratching) and lighly buffed the brass letters. It made them look like new.

Then, I went over the area with some piano polish. It still looks good.

I used the same process for the brass pedals.

Good luck!

Rick

I am positive it's inlaid, I know what you're talking about with decals, because you can feel the edge (my Schubert upright has them) . On the Petrof there's no edge feeling to them.

So it didn't scratch the surface around the letters?

Yes, but ever so slightly and not very visible. The piano polish removed the slight scratches afterward.

Also, you have to be really careful not to bear down too hard on the surface... I guess nothing is 100% efficient.

The brilliance of the brass letters in the fall board far out-shine any minute scratches as a result of the process.

As with anything regarding the finish on a piano, there are some risks involved. You might prefer hiring a pro.

Rick

There are some non-ammonia brass polishes that might be good. Try them on a hidden spot on the finish first, to see if there is a reaction.

Afterwards, you can carefully coat the brass with some clear nail gloss, which should keep it shiny. Again, try it on a hidden spot first.

Great idea, BDB! Once I get the letters shiny this should help protect it. I will have to muster up the courage to try some of these things, but definitely the more experimental things I will test it out first. Thanks, everyone!

A problem with Brasso is that if some gets into any cracks or crevices it dries to a white powder which is virtually impossible to get out again. This might be the case around the edges of your letters.

I would be very careful if using masking tape to check that no damage will be caused when removing it.

If you want to coat the newly-cleaned brass, might not a proper brass lacquer be better than nail gloss?

Would a toothbrush help to make sure everything's removed? I'm not going to use the Brasso on the lettering, just wheels and pedals.

I think that for the wheels and pedals it should be fine. But in my experience, dried Brasso in crevices can be really difficult to get out.

I used the Miracle Polishing and Cleaning Cloth (yes really) on my Yamaha. I just rubbed with the cloth and followed with a paper towel. Cleaned up the logo quickly.

It really worked well. I bought it at a hardware store in Riyadh when I, and the piano, lived there.

Miracle Cloth

How old is your piano and in what shape is the brass? If they are old and not covered with a lacquer then a polishing compound should work pretty good. I've found that Weiman Brass and Copper polish works really good for the final polish and detarnishing.

I've been doing a tremendous amount of brass polishing lately, but mine is like 90 yrs old and some of it was in pretty scratched shape. It's all dismantled so I don't have any problem with getting polish on the wood or finish. For the pedals and the castors I had to file them with fine jewelers needle files to get rid of bigger scratches and dings, then sanding to even it out, starting with 400 grit all the way through 4000 (600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2500), then a red compound (from Dreml) with a felt cloth, and finishing up with a white compound (Weiman) and a soft cotton cloth. They came out very nice. Basically the same process with all of the other parts, except most of them didn't need any more than a little minor filing, if any. They'll all ultimately be sprayed with brass lacquer to keep them from tanishing, but I haven't gotten to that part yet.

If your's is in as bad shape as mine was you may have to go somewhere along the same route. If you decide to lacquer it just be sure to do a final polishing with a fine compound everywhere and wipe it clean, ensuring to NOT touch any part of it with your skin. Finger oil causes tarnishing that could show through the lacquer. It's a lot of work but soooo worth it, especially if you plan to keep it for any length of time.

You might want to practice on some scrap or non-conspicuous pieces before you dig in to the "show pieces" though.

Sounds like it would work great! I'll try and get me one of these.