The Care And Feeding Of Your Piano

As mentioned previously, you should have an expert tuner-technician come out at least twice a year to take care of the inside of your piano – tuning, regulating, voicing and replacing of any worn out parts.

But taking care of the outside of your piano is your job, and it’s relatively simple.

Most pianos need only dry dusting, no polishes, to keep the furniture looking just fine. Occasionally, there will be oily fingerprints and other dirt tat won’t come off with dry dusting. In that case, just take two gentle-fabric wiping cloths (the best is those micro-fibre cloths), dip one in a little water with a few drops of gentle soap, and wring it out almost dry. Use the damp soapy one to rub off the offending spots, then immediately wipe away the dampness with the dry cloth and you’re done.

Pianos have two types of outer finishes. The original finish-of-choice was lacquer, and most good pianos were sprayed at the factory with several coats of high-quality lacquer, which was then hand-rubbed to the desired sheen. This is still the common choice in American pianos.

In the last few decades, Japanese and European piano manufacturers switched over to a much harder finish called polyester. You can spot these finishes on Japanese and European pianos right away, as they are ultra-glossy, wet-look finishes. They are difintely shinier and more durable then lacquer, but much harder to both apply and rub out. Polyester is so toxic, the finishers applyng it must wear full haz-mat suits.

However, polyster will not check and crack into that “alligator skin” look, the way lacquer will after a few decades or after exposed to a lot of sun and dryness. And the finish is hard enough that if you can even use a little Windex on a cloth to rub off stubborn spots.

You can clean dirty keys (they will definitely get oily and dirty after hours of play) with a dry cloth, or for a deeper clean, with an all-purpose spray cleanser. My favorite is Formula 409. It’s important to spray the cleaner on the cloth and wipe, NOT spray directly on the keys. Formula 409 will work on both plastic (after 1960) and ivory (pre-1955) keys, and harm neither.

That’s really all you have to do to care for your piano. Your tuner will do everything else, including inner cleaning. Especially in grand pianos with the lids raised, the piano will definitely collect a layer of dust on the soundboard. DO NOT try to vaccum this up yourself, you could damage the strings and dampers. Your tuner has special tools to clean under your strings, leave that to him/her.

Finally, avoid alowing direct sunlight to hit your piano for any extended period of time. Even an hour a day is too much. Appraise the position of your piano and the windows of that room, to see how much sunlight hits your piano directly, throughout the various seasons. If your piano is in a spot where it would be subject to direct sunlight for any extended period of time, either hang window coverings tha will block oout the sun during those hours, or keep your piano covered with one of the many form-fitting canvas or quilted covers available from piano dealers or your technician.

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