This is a case that I'm sure will sound familiar to some.

I have a recently acquired customer the owns an old upright (1901). When I came out to inspect/tune the piano, I noticed that the action was so sluggish that it was unplayable. I also noticed the the wood was unnaturally stained a dark color. The skip to the end, I asked the customer if anyone had ever treated the piano with WD-40. "Yes," I was told. There were some sluggish keys and it was treated with WD-40 on the action. The entire action was treated, apparently. Everything was covered with WD-40... the stickers, the hammer shanks... everything. Either the whole action had been utterly soaked, or the WD-40 just migrated everywhere.

I decided to try a little ProTek CLP and come back another day. Though I really didn't expect it to work, I thought, "What harm can it do now?" When I returned, the parts of the action treated with ProTek were only slightly better. But overall, the whole action was still unplayable.

I have two questions:

1.) I thought WD-40 in pianos, especially on the actions, was a definite no-no. But, I did a little Googling around, and I found this toward the bottom of this page:
]http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7591_102-0.html?forumID=26&threadID=37826&messageID=566789[/QUOTE][/url]

So apparently the manufacturers of WD-40 recommend its use in piano actions. I thought that WD-40, over time, tended to gum up action centers, necessitating repinning and rebushing down the road. Am I wrong? Was I wrong to most strenuously discourage the use of WD-40 to the customer? Or, does anyone know if WD-40 has changed their position recently?

(Btw, if they are in fact advising the use of WD-40 in actions, perhaps they could be held liable for any damage done?)

2.) If I am correct and WD-40 is making things worse than would otherwise be the case, are there any cheap and dirty tricks I can use? I don't think I can justify the cost of completely repinning and rebushing. The only thing I can think of is to either wash the action centers with naptha or acetone. But, I really don't want to do this because of the danger of explosion as well as possible cancer risks to me and the customers over time. Also, I'm not sure it will work, anyhow. This action is pretty stiff. It may also attack the glue joints, too.

I realize this may be a lost cause, but I wanted to ask for other opinions before throwing in the towel.

Thanks,
-Joe

Follow up:

I found the following uses listed for WD-40 after doing a search at their website:
In spite of the disclaimer at the end, the webpage states:

Hmpf...a hundred years old and full of animal tallow and petroleum waxes...it should catch easily and blaze spectacularly...

LOL!!!

So it's a goner?

I think it would be if it was me...

Thank you!

-Joe

Makes rusty piano strings pliable again. WOW. A miracle product for sure!


(Yah, it's a goner.)

Daniokeeper, if you sprayed WD40 on a plate and allowed the solvents to evaporate you will find the remaining residue somewhat sticky, as opposed to slick and oily. Once dust and dirt mixes with it, it really becomes a mess. As a machinist I was not allowed to spray down machines with it because any rust present would be sealed off and continue to grow and eventually pit the metal. It works fine at protecting clean metal from rusting.
Another point to remember is that any type of oil will migrate on a string from vibration, even vertically, up to the tuning pin. Maynard Hill's famous model plane that flew across the Atlantic used a carburetor that was fed fuel from below by a loose vibrating drill bit that stood vertically.
If you can get a hold of perchlorethelene (perc), it would work better than naptha but has its own dangers as well (carcinogenic.)

I'm a chemist. That's what I was "ejumacated" at. That's what I've done for twenty years, before I decided on a 'change'.

Please don't even try to obtain perchlorates. Cancer twenty years from now is the least of your worries. The thought of what would happen when you mix perchlorates with the God-only-knows-what is in and on the parts sends me running for an armored fume-hood...

I think I may just be walking away from this one...

Maybe I need to consider a nice safe profession like coal miner or doing a high wire act.

Thanks Emmery and Dale, for the background and advice on this.

JDelmore, thank you for pointing out that mixing unknown things together can have unknown consequences. It's something I'll absolutely keep in mind during my travels. (There's also a little synchronicity at work here, I think. Though I'm an older person, I'm back in night school completing a degree. One of the courses I'm taking this semester is chemistry. We just had the safety lecture last week! You can believe that I really do get the point. From the classroom to real life. )

-Joe G.

Yes, walk away. Ask the owners if they are interested in having a piano bonfire.

Just be sure not to stand down wind!

It unanimous!!!

-Joe