Another possibilty is that the home had an ion generator/air freshner. This would deoderize any soot, but also cause it to stick to walls and surfaces.
As for the serial number; I am intrigued as it doesn't seem to fall into the supposed pattern, unless the piano was made in the 1950s.
I may do some investigation.
Original Message:
Sent: 02-01-2024 02:26
From: Geoff Sykes
Subject: How to clean up soot
James --
The current owner has only had this piano for a month or so, and never saw it in its previous home. Her father, who purchased the piano for her, may have seen the previous home but has made no mention of it other than to say the piano was sitting next to the fireplace. That's why were guessing this is simply lamp-black like soot that was just constantly drifting around and settled in and on to the piano sort of like a fine black snow. Wear on the piano is otherwise minimal. Almost like it had never been played. Frightening to imagine what the rest of the house may have looked like. Or the owners lungs. Anyway, it's a very small Hallet Davis made by Samick so I'm not going to recommend any major work beyond simply cleaning it up some. As others have recommended here, I plan on contacting Cory about their take on this situation, and I thank you for recommending the special sponges. I'll look for them.
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Geoff Sykes, RPT
Los Angeles CA
Original Message:
Sent: 01-31-2024 23:25
From: James Kelly
Subject: How to clean up soot
The soot is pretty bad and must have affected the entire house. We had a blowback from a fireplace that shared a chimney with an oil fired furnace. The damper in the fireplace was installed backwards. Anyway it was a mess with soot all over. There are special sponges that are made to pick up soot. They may work to clean the soundboard and the plate but may require some cutting and fitting .
Its pretty amazing that the owners did not notice the piano was getting covered in soot.
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James Kelly
Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
Pawleys Island SC
(843) 325-4357
Original Message:
Sent: 01-31-2024 14:56
From: David Pinnegar
Subject: How to clean up soot
An ozone generator can be very effective at removing smell
Best wishes
David P
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David Pinnegar, B.Sc., A.R.C.S.
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+44 1342 850594
Original Message:
Sent: 1/31/2024 9:32:00 AM
From: Peter Grey
Subject: RE: How to clean up soot
IIRC Dave Swartz of Cory Keyboard Products told me (he is an expert in this field) that the corrosive effect of soot is entirely gone after 48 hours. After that it's just dirty. The perpetual corrosion idea is basically a gimmick cooked up for obvious commercial purposes
Peter Grey Piano Doctor
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Peter Grey
Stratham NH
(603) 686-2395
pianodoctor57@gmail.com
Original Message:
Sent: 01-31-2024 08:27
From: Paul Williams
Subject: How to clean up soot
Good suggestions.
I'm wondering how corrosive the soot is? It might be worth the time and effort to go ahead and restring the whole thing after taking the plate out, strip and refinish it and clean the soundboard while it's out.
Just my 2 cents sharp!
Paul
Original Message:
Sent: 1/31/2024 8:24:00 AM
From: Wim Blees
Subject: RE: How to clean up soot
Geoff
You're never going to get all the black soot out of the piano, but you can make it look a lot better.
For the soundboard, use a rag that's been dipped in a bucket of warm water and Spik and Span. Squeeze out most of the moisture and push it under the strings with a soundboard steel. Remove the action and push the rag all the way to upper octave and take it out with your hands. Repeat as necessary.
For the pin area, spray a section with Scrubbing Bubbles and let it soak, then dap it up with cheese cloth. Repeat as necessary.
Of course the best way to remove the soot is to remove the strings and plate, etc.
Wim
Original Message:
Sent: 1/31/2024 2:14:00 AM
From: Geoff Sykes
Subject: How to clean up soot
How to clean up soot? Not that old Hallet Davis baby grand made by Samick. I can't decode the sn, and numbers in the DGO range aren't listed in Pierce, but I'm guessing 15 to 25 years old. Hardly ever played but lived next to an extremely poorly vented fireplace since new. As a result the inside of the piano is covered in thick black soot. There is nothing to indicate that this could be home fire damage. It's just soot that covers the top of everything. New owner, (received it as a gift from her father who bought it from a private party), has already cleaned up what she could get to but the rest needs cleaning badly. Soot is greasy and can't just be vacuumed up or easily wiped off. I'm looking for suggestions on how to approach this task. See pics.
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Geoff Sykes, RPT
Los Angeles CA
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