Kimball upright piano cleaning?

Question

Hello I just purchased a used piano. I bought it because I liked it and it had a great price on it. The wood and keys need to be clean and polished. I would like to make the piano look shiny and not old. I know absolutley nothing about pianos. I cannot afford to have it restored by a professional. I do not want to ruin the pianos value, if it has any, by painting it or doing anything that shouldn't be done to a piano. Does anyone have any experience with restoring old pianos? Help!

Answer 1

We have a Kimball artist console (upright). I use Old English dark to hide knicks and scratches. You can use acetone on the keys (I assume they are plastic coated, not real ivory). The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is also very useful.

You can also flip up the top, remove the whole faceboard (it lifts straight up held in by metal brackets on the sides) and take a vacuum cleaner with a dust brush attachment and carefully vacuum the dust out of the hammers and the top of the keys (on the inside). The bottom panel also pops out (above the pedals) and you can vacuum that as well.

As for the keyboard action and tuning -- that must be done by a professional. If there are any slow keys they must be lubricated by a professional.

Tuning should cost around $50 - $100 depending on how bad it is. Minor repairs can be done in-home for $100. If there are more in-home extensive repairs -- they can be done in multiple visits (as you can afford it).

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Answer 2

The ivory keys need to be cleaned with milk, and then wiped clean, once dry - wipe with a lighlty damp cloth to remove any of the milk residue. The wood for cleaning and brightening, use a wood soap, like "Murphys oil" - add a tiny bit of bleach to a warm water/Murphys mix, maybe like 2% of the total mixture. The bleach will brighten the wood stain - do not do this more than every few years - only if it is really in need of a good cleaning. wash with a terry cloth to get all the gooky dirt nastiness off, THEN once rinsed and dry (clean water rinse) go to a furnature polish, they do have special polishes for pianos. Check with a local piano shop. Enjoy the Piano.