How do you clean the inside of a piano?
Have you ever wondered how we clean a 100+ year old piano that comes into our shop? Honestly, we use a LOT of damp cloths and “elbow grease!”
If you are attempting to clean your piano, stay away from chemicals or cleaners around the pins and strings. We also recommended using gloves so the oils in your hands don’t get on the strings. We also use Q-tips to clean around the pins.
Here’s a list of everything we do when we clean a piano for restoration!
| First, Designate a labeled white box (brand and serial number) and disassemble piano. Put all cabinetry together on one shelf with foam protection in between each component. Make sure to label cabinetry and screws. Put action in cradle. Put keys in labeled box. |
| Take before pics, upload them to a google album named for this piano’s brand and serial number |
| Vacuum piano. Throw away old punchings, but keep some felt punching samples in box. Remove back rail felt and put in box. |
| Tip piano and take off bottom board |
| Clean trap work: |
| Next, Sand / buff each individual piece. You can soda blast before you take it apart if it works better. Buff all screws and metal. Replace felt / leather and lubricate. |
| Use the planer or vacuum sander to clean the board. Glue/repair cracks if necessary. Replace this the bottom panel altogether if cracks are bad enough. |
| * Make sure to keep everything organized and labeled so you can put it back together exactly the same. Take pictures, upload to this piano’s google album |
| Shine strings. Use coarse Scotch-Brite, then also use steel wool on the bass strings to give an extra shine. |
| Put trap work back on piano and tip up right |
| Clean key bed. Use TSP and Scotch-Brite for balance Rail and front rail. Sand the rest. If the keybed is painted, use TSP and a rag. |
| Shine tips of pins on front rail and balance rail with Scotch-Brite. Straighten the front rail pins. |
| Take the piano out back and blow out with compressed air |
| Clean the back of piano with TSP. Check for metal with a magnet. |
| Shine screws and Metal. For large bolt screws across top – use sandpaper on the drill press, than buff. For the bearing rail, the rail beneath the tuning pins, shine with bright-boy. If needed buff each screw on rail one at a time. |
| Replace Felts, including back rail felt. |
| Clean pedal rods and replace needed felt. |
| Finally, One last vacuum and take picture of finished piano. |
If this seems like a LOT of work and would like us to clean your piano for you, just give us a call at 801-701-0113 and we will do all the work and you will be left with a perfectly clean piano!