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I have had the same grand piano for several years, but now about twenty small brown spots have appeared on the soundboard, perhaps because I recently moved it to a different position in the room. Should I be worried? Do you think I should do something to remove them? In the meantime, I tried cleaning them with a cotton swab by passing it between the strings, but I wasn't successful.
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Is it a humid environment? Air must circulate and the piano must be opened every now and then. All assumptions, of course. It could also be the soundboard lacquer, that is, the finish. If the stains are under the lacquer, there is nothing to be done. Post any photos if possible
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pianoexpert wrote:On 9/3/2018 at 23:16, pianoexpert said:
Is it a humid environment? The air must circulate and the piano must be opened every now and then. All assumptions, of course. It could also be the soundboard lacquer, that is, the finish. If the stains are under the lacquer, there is nothing to be done. Post any photos if possible.
First of all, thank you. I have just taken a photo, for as much as can be seen because, unfortunately, the quality of the photo is not very good...
In fact, I think that the humidity is not always stable in the room. I live practically in the open countryside on the ground floor; when my father built the house, he thought to install large pipes in certain rooms by drilling through the wall, similar to those used to expel smoke from stoves, at the end of which there is that sort of spiral aluminum "cap" that rotates autonomously with the wind, sucking in air. Sometimes when it is too windy, the noise bothers me, so I close it. Well, among other things, I think I forgot to open this pipe for a few weeks, and I suppose there was condensation.
As for the piano, I do use it, so it is opened often.
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They look like stains that have existed for a long time. There are also some signs of rust on the strings. Relative humidity needs to be measured. The soundboard is dirty and probably small stains that were "latent" have become visible with the increase in humidity. I don't know the age of the piano, but perhaps it is time to replace the strings, at least in the "cantabile" area. Everything must be kept under control. With a soundboard living in an environment with high relative humidity, everything changes: mechanical efficiency, hammer surface, and the optimal vibration of the soundboard itself.
