Success Cleaning Escutcheon Plates
By Terry Smythe
Couple weeks ago, I posed a question in an appeal for advice on how to clean the escutcheon plates on an Ampico A drawer I'm working on. In the past I had modest success with Brasso, followed by soap and water. This time, the piano I'm working on is particularly dirty and the buildup of scum and crud in the tiny crevices defied removal.
Several people kindly offered their successful experience and today I went at it. Everything I tried failed miserably. The stubborn dirt just would not come free. As an experiment I tried lightly spray painting one of them with gold lacquer, but all that did was fill in the 3D detail portions and obliterate the detail.
In frustration, I set it aside, had a nap, a bite to eat, then came back at it. Remembering I had a similar escutcheon plate from an old gutted player piano, I experimented with what might be considered extreme measures.
I used professional grade Sherwin Williams Paint and Varnish Remover (product #7670), hitting it harshly with a nylon bristle fingernail brush. On this left-over part, I had nothing to lose, and fully expected the "gold/brass" plating to simply evaporate.
However, to my surprise, not only did the plating remain intact, but the crap and dirt in the crevices quickly melted away, and I was left with a gleaming "like new" escutcheon plate. With this new burst of courage, I tried one of the Ampico plates with similar delightful results.
Then I did them all in about a half hour. With each, it took 3 applications of paint remover, each followed minutes later by harsh striking with the stiff bristle brush, and finishing up with a clean new brush. On general principles, I washed the lot with soap and water to remove any residual paint remover.
The final result is excellent. About 99.99% of the dirt and discoloration is gone, and all have been restored to their original brilliance, with the fine 3D detail fully intact. Thought you might like to know the final result.
Regards,
Terry
Terry Smythe (204) 832-3982 (voice/fax)
55 Rowand Avenue smythe@mbnet.mb.ca
Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3J 2N6 smythe@freenet.mb.ca |
(Message sent Mon 18 Mar 1996, 03:49:31 GMT, from time zone GMT-0600.) |
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