Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Minimizing WD40 damages

Hello,
Today a piano technician came to help me with a ticking pedal noise, he spread wd-40 on the action and it did eliminate the ticking noise,
Then I've read out of curiosity about the usage of this spray in pianos and I came to the hundreds of warnings not to use it.
Now it's a bit too late but I am asking if there is something to do to minimize the upcoming possible damage and what to expect.
Thanks in advance

where exactly he used wd40

On the silencers, and the on several points bettwen the sustain pedal and the action. Not on the strings or something like that,

you mean dampers, but where on dampers, it's grand or upright?

I saw mine using wd40 too on an action mechanism off an upright. I asked him about it, and it was a wide spread habbit he said. I believed him.
It was in this area: https://photos.app.goo.gl/YBDSdN1DcsCiGbvi9

Like johan_d, I'm refering to an upright piano, but I cannot say for sure where he spread it. All I can say is that he did that while the action mechanism was unattached to it's place and he did that onspecific spots (about 4-5) along the way, and in the sustail pedal area itself.

I'm guessing he used it on the sustain damper pivot rod hinges. As far as places in a piano that one could erroneously use WD-40 go, that's a relatively low risk of it spreading into the action or onto the strings and messing things up. Still, a bit concerning that he used WD-40 in there instead of a more suitable lubricant.

Also, Johan - Using WD-40 on the actual action mechanisms - particularly action centers like the jack you circled, is NOT recommended. In fact, I'd suggest that if your tech is using WD-40 like that, it may be time to get another tech.

I agree, especially with the second part.

I agree too.

+1

The technical data sheet for WD40 has a list of materials that it is compatible with. Wood is not on the list.

Does anyone know the long term damage of using wd40? I'm curious because I saw someone training a tech and they were using wd40 silicone spray as a general lubricant.

Silicone spray can gum up actions after a while. I have used orange oil paint thinner to wash it away, without harming the felt bushings. That freed up the action.

Traditional WD-40 does not contain silicone. They do have a silicone option, but it says silicone on the label.

Weird, well I'm not going to name the guy because I'm better than that. But I wish I could check in with his pianos in a few years lol.

Why oh why does wd40 get this continual bad press? Ordinary WD not their silicone one.
Inevitably it descends to comments about spray on tuning pins. We shouldn't blame the material for it's unsuitable use.
I know a technician who has used it for many years with absolutely no issues. He laughs at me for using more expensive alternatives. He has never had a comeback. I have watched him use it with the straw thing to free off sticking parts in two seconds. He uses as little as possible. On pedals it is far less intrusive than any form of grease.
Wd40 is a great product. Obviously the spray element doesn't help but I have bought it in 5litre bottles when I used to spray the underneath of my classic cars with it. I could easily have decanted some to a syringe or small oiler bottle.
It has no bad effect on wood. Why the bad press?
I challenge anyone to produce evidence of it's material failure in a piano if properly applied.
Lastly, I once did a test of rust prevention on metals. This was car related but I used a piece of wood drilled with six holes into which I glued six identical 6 inch lengths of piano wire.
I coated five of them with different branded rust preventers and then left the last one uncoated. I put this block outside and left it for one year. At the end, the only piece of wire which looked like new was the one coated in WD40. All the others had rusted away. WD40 drives off moisture and leaves a microthin coating, far thinner than silicone. My colleague has demonstrated it's use to me time and time again. I'm ashamed that I don't use it really.
So here's the challenge again....what have you seen that leads you to believe WD40 is an inappropriate material?
Nick

I should add that I have absolutely no affiliation with the wd40 company.
Nick

I carry WD40 with me and have used it on pedals. I think it's an excellent product, and your experiment with the coated piano wire lengths is fascinating.

Not unnaturally, I was against the guy near me who used to spray the tuning pins and pinblock liberally with it.

As for the possibility of using it on sluggish actions, I dunno, but I don't like the idea, when Protek CLP seems to work well. But, applied as carefully as Protek CLP, using a 'hypo oiler' bottle, I dunno!

I have used WD40 on an action but once, on a birdcage action that someone had previously applied some oil to, which had dried to a kind of varnish. Telling the client (a work colleague) that it was the only thing I could think of that would be worth trying (this was in days before Protek CLP), and the piano otherwise unplayable and untunable, they agreed for me to give it a go. It worked like magic! And stayed effective in subsequent years.

Looks like a resounding (though silent) victory for wd40 then?
Perhaps we should all start using it cautiously?
Nick

Uh ... no. Not at all.As my dad used to say ... just because somebody jumps off a roof doesn't mean you should.

WD40 has its uses. But remember ... WD stands for water displacement. Has your piano been flooded lately?