removing felt from underside of plastic hammers

[james]

I need to take the key pedestal felts off of the hammers in this early '77 Rhodes.  How are people removing them without leaving the sticky residue on the hammer?

[pianotuner steveo]

Naphtha.

I believe this was recommended by Rhodes in the original manual.

[Fred]

Correct. With naphtha and a little elbow grease you should be able to (and the desired effect IS to) remove all traces of the original adhesive.

[james]

So 35 years later, is there a less flammable alternative to naphtha?

[pianotuner steveo]

Not that I am aware of. Just don't use near a candle, cigarette, etc.


You do not want to use anything that can craze or melt the plastic. Acetone is a big no-no!

[goldphinga]

Take the hammer comes out and steam them off using a steam mop with attachment.

[pianotuner steveo]

I don't know if I would try that- that's a lot of heat and moisture inside the piano...

Naphtha has been used in pianos (acoustic) for many many years before the Rhodes came along.
It can be used to loosen up tight center pins in actions that use wooden parts and metal center pins.
It was common before Protek was invented, but even that is highly flammable.

[goldphinga]

It's all done outside the piano so there's no moisture getting inside the piano. You take the whole hammer assembly with comb out of the piano.