On Tue, 20 Jul 2010 22:33:09 -0400, mm
wrote:



Back to the fraternity piano, and this truly is home repair, I think,
I dusted the dampers and the dust kept coming off and off and off. I
wet a rag and kept at it. After 10 or 20 minutes, I started seeing
the wood grain. Eventually I got the whole thing clean and the grain
continued from one damper to another. It was beautiful. They were all
cut from one piece of wood. I don't know how old this piano was but
the house was a fraternity house for maybe 50 or 60 years at the time,
maybe less.

So I dno't know how long the dampers took to get this dusty, but maybe
60 years.

I woudn't at all assume every piano has dampers like this. I've never
noticed another one like it, though I don't usually lift the lid. I'm
pretty sure mine are just black.

I guess I was pretty confident dirt was coming off and not just some
sort of black stain. When I got down to the grain, it was still
varnished or had some smooth finish on it. I used very little water
and more rubbing.