Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum What's the key to getting along with Ebony Polish finish?

I always wash my hands before playing but sometimes it still needs to be cleaned. We are still disgusting animals with skin oil, dander, and who knows what else. Gotta keep that fallboard looking shiny!

Of course only on a cloth as fluid directly on a piano is never a good idea..

The secret is to let the dust build up. Then you won't notice the fingerprints.

I use a show car detailing spray to clean and protect my piano's finish. It's a sealant so it helps repel dust, fingerprints, protects against UV light, water spots, etc.

http://www.zainostore.com/product/Z-6.html

It might seem odd to put car waxes/sealants on a piano, but if you think about it the polished polyester is very similar to a car's clear coat.

This guy uses natural carnauba wax:
https://pianochronicles.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/caring-for-the-pianos-finish/

PTG even suggests using car polishes to remove light scratches:
http://www.ptg.org/Scripts/4Disapi....amp;DocID=60&MenuKey=Menu7#polyester

Keep in mind, polishes are different than waxes and sealants. Don't use them everyday. They remove scratches by removing paint.

My Grotrian dealer, when the piano was delivered, supplied me with a bottle of Meguiars Auto polish. I sparingly apply it every 6 months - the day before it's serviced.

The only downside is that the piano cover is harder to put on - as it tries to slide right over the other side and onto the carpet.

"...Keep in mind, polishes are different than waxes and sealants. Don't use them everyday. They remove scratches by removing paint...."

This may be true for car products, but the Cory's Piano Polish is a very light-bodied liquid wax. It does not remove anything from a piano's finish except dirt and oils.

a couple of times a year, I use Kleenmaster Brillianize. No ammonia, no alcohol but probably yes on silicone. If it is abrasive, it's VERY mild. Less than the common Novus #2 which I use on model plastic which is polystyrene and MUCH softer than Polyester. It's supposed to be an anti-static to repel dust and resist fingerprints. Maybe it does. I just like the shine it brings up and after a couple of years of use it hasn't done any noticeable harm.

Oh, and it's R. Kassman endorsed! FWIW.

Kurt

Easiest way is to avoid the polished finish altogether! Too late for that though.

On a serious note, if you're opening and closing it regularly, consider keeping some soft gloves handy to avoid touching the finish at all. I have an older guitar that I don't play much--I keep a pair of cotton gloves in the case for times when I'm going to be handling it and want to keep it clean. It just takes a split second to put the gloves on before handling it, and no sweat, oil, etc gets on the guitar. And no need to clean the guitar afterwards.

Wim, I remember when you were looking for your piano--roughly the same time as me. You were the first to respond when I posted that I'd gotten mine! I realized recently that I'm creeping up on 1000, but you've doubled mine!

Also annoying are dried spit blobs on the fallboard from the consonants of our favorite swear words whilst practicing. **RATS** Fortunately, these clean off with a slightly damp cloth followed by a dry one.

Another reason your mother doesn't want you cuss.

Your breath vapor or even your spit removes fingerprints rather well. The saliva has enzymes the cut the oils that leave the fingerprints. Check the interwebz if you don't believe me.

Kurt

Is there any info about any component of breath vapor that could be harmful to the finish?

Only if you're a dragon..

I suppose I try to make up for quality with quantity

No, I haven't lived that long yet.

Probably not:

"Saliva is a watery substance located in the mouths of animals, secreted by the salivary glands. Human saliva is 99.5% water, while the other 0.5% consists of electrolytes, mucus, glycoproteins, enzymes, antibacterial, and bacteria compounds such as secretory IgA and lysozyme. "

Nikon says you shouldn't breath on a lens to clean it because breath vapor has acids in it that can harm the coatings. Of course on the photography boards where I found this there was an immediate response of many photogs who have breathed on their lenses for years with no ill effects noticed. I've been breath breathing my 'cello for years and if it hasn't broken down the varnish, it's not going to break down polyester. I notice several academic papers about spit being used in art conservation and to clean alabaster. I used a little spit on my cello for years and it did not harm to oil based varnish which melts at the mere sight of alcohol.

I'm not recommending it to anyone. I'm just mentioning the it as a quirky oddity that saliva and breath vapor are still used this way.

Many scuba divers rub their spit in their masks to prevent it from fogging up. I prefer just to use defog it's like $5 and probably has a few hundred applications.

Saliva also will mark where you have been and could be used to prove ownership if your burglar happens to also be a piano mover.

This is a quality post!