Cleaning gunk from UNDER the drawbars...any tips?

[dbsoundman]

Anyone have tips for cleaning underneath the drawbars? Just picked up a CV that has a "build up" of fuzz and gunk that is very reluctant to come up. I cleaned under one set of drawbars last night using Q-tips, used about 8 of them and it's still not totally clean. I saw Dr. Kemp had a video on YouTube where he used a cleaning "tool" of some sort, but he never explained what it was exactly.

[David Anderson]

Are you talking about inside the drawbar housing or outside on the drawbar base?

[dbsoundman]

Are you talking about inside the drawbar housing or outside on the drawbar base?

Outside under the drawbar base. Basically if you push in all the drawbars, I need to clean the space directly on the "boots" that you grab to draw out the drawbar.

[David Anderson]

I turn old clothes into cleaning cloths, so I just dampen one, maybe with some cleaning spray, and drag it back and forth under the drawbars.

[dbsoundman]

I turn old clothes into cleaning cloths, so I just dampen one, maybe with some cleaning spray, and drag it back and forth under the drawbars.

I did try that, albeit with paper towels for now, but the gunk is really stuck down. It's not actively sticky, but it must have been at one point.

Someone on Facebook recommended lifting the drawbars out. Is that doable on a CV? I can see how to remove the music rack but haven't looked closely at the top/lid or drawbar mounting yet.

[David Anderson]

Try Krud Kutter cleaner.

[dbsoundman]

Is there any concern with getting cleaning fluid on the drawbars themselves? I wouldn't think so but I'd like to be sure.

[David Anderson]

Windex also works.

[Bobmann]

What you see is no doubt hardened grease. Some of these had a layer of dry and hardened grease that has to be literally scraped off, as any solvent that will cut it would also probably leave stains on the painted metal base. I believe that some of the assembly line techs were paid by the pound as to how much grease thaty could pack in there.
Curious why you desire to get all this off? If you already cleaned the visible dust off, you can't see the underside of the DB, so why not just leave it?
If it were me, though...I would certainly do what you are doing because I am pretty anal about cleaning things.

The entire DB assembly can be removed, but it is a bit involved.
The top of the CV is glued in place, so removing it would involve some woodwork.

You will need to disconnect (screws) the DB leads from the patch panel and fish the leads out from behind...not really a bid deal.
Before you disconnect anything, though, I would take a moment to label all the wires. On the older organs with cloth wires, you will be looking at them when you are putting it back together and asking yourself...is this gray or brown or red? They all tend to look the same. I use wire markers, but a piece of masking tape would work just fine. Also, if you are unfamiliar with the color sequence, write it down or take pictures. (0 is BK, 1 is BN, 2 is RD, etc.)
Then you will need to unsolder all of the wires from the ends of all the DB...a PIA when the keyboard is inside the cabinet. Again, mark the wires. I number them 1-9 to make sure I get them all back in the proper place.
Then you remove certain screws from the DB housing, not all of the screws come out. Rule of thumb is just remove those screws that have a lockwasher under it...you need to look carefully for them. I have a picture of which screws if you need it.
Then the whole thing comes out and you can further disassemble and clean to your heart's content. On the DB with the ratchets, I take all the buss bars completely out which is easier to clean thoroughly. I can show you how I get it all together if you need.
I believe that I have pictures and possibly an unfinished video that I plan to post one day if you want to persue removal and disassembly that could help.
The biggest hassle is unsoldering the wires from the back that are behind the patch panel. Other than that, it is not difficult, just a bit time consuming due to space constraints.

Bob

[dbsoundman]

Wow, that is a bit involved! I'm not quite that desperate to clean under the drawbars by removing them, I was just hoping that would be the easier route to go. The gunk does look like it was some sort of grease that got fuzz and dust from the air stuck to it, then hardened over time. I got 90% of it off with Q-Tips the other day, but there's still some residue so I'll have to go over that first set again...then do 3 more sets of drawbars. THEN I get to clean all the keys...

I might just try spraying some cleaner on there first and let it sit for a few minutes, then try wiping it away. I might find a ruler or tongue depressor or something as well and see if I can use that to push my towel around.