Hi All,  Kim Bunker here from www.playerpianos.com  When I mentioned
deburring and then spraying the screws with the brass and metal
non-retardant lacquer I was basically giving you a quick and painless
way of restoring something without studying it like a science project.
In the nearly 30 years of being a rebuilder we have tried about every
kind of product except wax.  (Wax sweats, causing airtight seals to
leak.)

When rebuilding a player or anything that needs to be sealed by leather
or cork gaskets, or pressure sealed by screws in wood or metal, and
using no glue, using the product I described in my last letter is the
only effective solution outside of doing it with bare metal which will
corrode and rust.

I read some of these other solutions including using wax.  Please do
not do this.  I'll give you a little story about using wax.  One time
about nine years ago we had a client for whom we had to redo their
Mason Hamlin BB 7'2" Ampico A.  The previous rebuilder told them that
in the restoration they used an old method(?) to protect the piano.

The customer lived in Palm Springs, where in the summer it gets up
to over 110 degrees about everyday!  Now, I do want to explain that
the home had air conditioning too.  Well, after three months their
beautiful fully restored Ampico started leaking all over the place.
The rebuilder was nowhere to be found.

Anyway, when wax is exposed, heat and moisture makes it sweat, causing
the screw to loosen in the hole and hole is now lubricated as well,
causing the gaskets to leak.

The solution?  Well, actually there is no solution other then removing
all the screws treated with wax and somehow removing the wax from the
inner coils of the wood; this is next to impossible.

The only thing I can leave you with is that wax acts just like
lubricant.  _Do not ever do this!_  Just clean the screws, remove the
rust or corrosion and spray with non-retardant lacquer which costs
a whopping $4.09 a can which will coat probably 2,000 screws or more.

Sincerely
Kim Bunker