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Hi Anton,

There is a saying I read somewhere long ago...

Oil attracts dust.
Dust attracts moisture.
Moisture causes rust.

WD-40 is oily.

This also is a reason to avoid touching the strings with oily hands.

I was definitely considering WD-40 sprayed on the tuning pins as the culprit. But, if you didn't spray and left the tuning pins and pinblock alone, this is probably not the problem.

That being said, WD-40 does have the ability to travel into other areas. Avoid it at all costs for piano work.

This is only a guess... The black marks on the strings may have been caused by some sort of contamination getting on them. Then, that contaminant attracting dust and dirt from the air.
Or, maybe it was some sort of chemical reaction between the contaminant and the string, or the contaminant and the air. Regardless, it seems like it was the contaminant that was discolored, not the string.

When you used WD-40 with a cloth, you basically cleaned and replaced the contaminant and its dirt with new WD-40.

But again, this is only a guess.

To clean and polish a string that has genuinely rusted requires more effort than just a light pass with a cloth.

If the plain wire strings need rust polished away, it's best to use something specifically manufactured for this purpose, like Polita polish. https://www.google.com/search?q=pol...760j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Because the piano keeps fluctuating between sounding in tune and sounding out of tune, your problem is almost certainly an environmental issue.

Edit: The next time you observe dark spots on the strings, try wiping them with a new, clean microfiber cloth to try to absorb the WD-40/oil. Or, you could not wait until you see dark spots and do it sooner. Be careful not to touch the bass strings with the cloth after it has absorbed any WD-40.

Best of luck!
-Joe

Thank you Joe,
as said no WD 40 sprayed or on the pins, just a little bit on cloth.
It's no possible 40 WD has compromised the piano, it was more than year ago, and the piano was ok till this recent days. As you said , yes , black on strings was a reaction, sometimes it happens , I will talk about the WD 40 with my tech,
he strongly suggests, easily and sure of it. He is not an improvised technicians, I'll see. Btw at this point I have planned an independent point of view and tuning.
If something positive happens I'll stay on this piano, if not I 'll go for full replacement. No time to waste no need for stress.
Thanks.

Anton,

If you have a new environmental issue that did not exist before, replacing the piano may not correct the problem.

When you have your independent technician come to tune and evaluate the piano, please ask him to check for any environmental problems.

-Joe

Of course I will. If I have environmental problems I will correct with all the solutions possible. Have to say I like this piano so much, is a very different from the classic C series , is warm and powerful, I love to play it, keyboard action is very responsive. I have preferred it more than a CX located in the same store ( I know each piano is his own story but it was my choice at the time ) so, give up will not be easy. I'll do everything in order to make all working fine.
Thx
-Aj

I'm sorry if my last post was redundant or seemed improper. I'm up very late here (3:45 AM) working on a project. My head is not working thinking too clearly

-Joe

You are welcome anyway

Update ; just coming home after 4 days. Playing the piano and discover it is not bad as it was . Sure not perfect after the last tuning day but it seems " self stabilized ". Some unison seems auto aligned. Somethings like what happened time ago. Is this a good sign ? I'm going for retuning the next week anyway.
Thanks.
-Aj

It's a sign that the piano is reacting to changes in humidity and/or temperature.

Consider a Dammp-Chaser Piano Lifesaver System. Here in the USA, I charge approximately as much as 4.5 tunings for the product including installation. I don't know what your local tech will charge.

http://www.pianolifesaver.com/english
http://www.pianolifesaver.com/media/docs/ItalianoDamppChaser.pdf

There's probably no huge harm in using WD-40 the way you did, although personally I would never risk it. It's hard to trust a product like that not to migrate to places that I don't want it, like tuning pin holes! It's designed to work its way into things like stuck bolts. Here in the U.S. techs are generally taught not to use the stuff in pianos, period, and I think it's with good reason.

That being said, I don't think it's automatic proof that your technician is bad - that is too harsh a judgment.

If you wipe WD 40 on the strings, it will get on the damper felt and hammers. Here is a safe product for cleaning strings:

https://www.amazon.com/Piano-String-Cleaning-Tool-Tarnish/dp/B0071NUSH4

Hi guys, thank you all.
I'm very happy the piano is coming back ! Not perfect but playable.
As said : WD 40 was just used by spraying it on cloth and softly cleaning the strings. No drops on the felt / hammers / pins.
I will never , never use it !
So, at this point do you still suggest retuning / other tech response or I should wait ?
Thanks
-Aj

I suggest getting the Dampp Chaser installed along with the undercover and let your piano climatise to the new microclimate for several weeks before having it retuned.

Ok, trying to find a reseller in Rome.
-Aj

Back on August 20th, I summarized your issues and suggested a course of action.

Yes, thanks.
What do you suggest if I don't have the chance to install the piano life saver ?
It seems not available in Rome.
Ordinary dehumidifier ?
-Aj

Yes, you can also use a room dehumidifier. Find one with the digital controls so you can precisely set the humidity levels. A couple of negatives are these units are noisy and they use quite a bit of electricity.

Received, should be set always on ?
Thx

I'd check with your household insurance contract, if they would allow you to run electric devices, while nobody present in tha house. (Especially the ones, which involve water...)
SCNR

Understood.....
-Aj

Yes, figure on always keeping it on. However, that doesn't mean that it'll be running all the time, just only when the humidity gets too high. What you're really trying to do is level out the humidity spikes. It's OK for the humidity to fluctuate a small amount but the spikes are what throws things off.