Larry Mayo asked if there was an easy way to clean piano parts other
than sanding.  Well firstly, my college tutor frowned very heavily upon
sanding as it actually removes wood from the component being cleaned.
He instructed us in the use of medium grade wire wool. Its okay up to a
point but can be very fiddly.  Reasonably effective though, especially
on the metal parts.

Some of the students experimented with an alcohol based spirit, the
name of which I cannot remember but could probably find out if needed.
This brought the parts up like new. They did it specifically for the
exams though, and I considered this a trifle unethical, as they were
not planning to go to that much trouble in real life.  I used wire wool
and got a credit so I was satisfied that my standard of work was
acceptable for all commercial and practical purposes.

These days I tend to use a small wire brush of the sort found in shoe
shops for cleaning suede boots.  They are easy to handle, effective,
but do not last very long if you are cleaning lots of actions.  Quite
good though, and fast.  Worth a try.

Roger Waring