Does a polished white piano need regular maintenance (such as those wax or polish cleaning products that exist in the market) to keep its wood and color in good condition? I've heard that waxing can protect a piano's finish, but others say it's not really necessary for white pianos and can even cause buildup that's hard to remove. Now I’m confused — should I take any specific steps to protect my white piano, or is simply dusting it with a microfiber cloth from time to time enough?
1 Answer
A white piano will (just like a black piano) be varnished using a quite thick layer of polyester or polyurethane varnish. This varnish should not interact with a lot of chemicals, and waxing it will simply smear on it. If it needs cleaning it can easily be cleaned using a wet cloth, but then you should usually not get the piano dirty in the first place. Mostly you should care to not scratch the varnish or hit it with hard objects, and to not expose it to heavily to UV light (which can eventually make the varnish brittle). There is no real maintenance you can do to keep the varnish in good condition, and nothing you put onto the varnish should go through it. Except maybe that it is a good idea to clean off sweat and gunk, although even there modern varnish is quite strong.
And quite frankly, you probably should not do such maintenance. Putting random stuff on musical instruments is often not a good idea (although many guitarists disagree). This is especially true on old pianos that mostly have shellac polish finishes. And the maintenance that the piano actually needs will be taken care of by your piano technician when the piano is tuned. Just make sure to not damage the varnish or the instrument and you’ll be fine.
And this means: Be careful around the piano to not scratch or dent the varnish. Try to avoid getting it dirty, and if it does get dirty, clean it carefully. Make sure the piano is not in a room that is excessively dry or humid (in case it is it might make sense to invest in a humidifier). And never put random stuff on the instrument, especially on the wooden parts that are not varnished!
Generally the outside of the piano is just a beautiful case. The wood that really matters is the wood on the inside.
