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