Removing Wax?

[Tahoe Gator]

We inherited a 1960 piano that is in pretty good condition save for too much wax buildup from whatever was used on it. Years of Pledge perhaps. Any suggestions for safe and effective removal would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[jppierson]

What is the intent, keeper or sell? I assume keeper. Are you just wanting to clean the old wax/dirt or are you prepping for new finish? I assume cleaning.
I clean up old furniture finds from auctions for my daughter and always find it amazing how much better the wood looks just by cleaning and new wax. I only use cotton rags; no green/red/grey scrubbies nor sand paper.

Start with soap and water. Don't soak the wood, just clean the surface dirt. I often use denatured alcohol (DNA), mineral spirits or laquer thinner (test in that order). You can also try Naptha but I don't know where it should go in the order of test, Naptha is also a petroleum based product. Test in an inconspicuous area. Use a Q-tip or something similar. What you are looking for is that the wax/dirt is removed and NOT soften the underlying finish. If the finish turns tacky, it is the one that was the solvent for the finish applied. If you just want to remove the old wax use a different solvent. That is why you should start with DNA. Given the piano is from the 60s it is likely not finished with shellac. So be careful with the mineral spirits or laquer thinner the newer finishes are often dissolved by these solvents. My guess is that you will find that the DNA will do the trick. Once you figure out which solvent cleans but doesn't dissolve, wipe down the piano to clean. This may take a couple rounds, and as the wax dissolves you need to keep changing the rag (old cotton towel, t-shirts). Once you have the old wax off, re-wax with your choice of polish. I use Howard's Feed-N-Wax, I have no affiliation with Howard's, its just what I use. Its really easy and the item looks great afterwards.

If you decide you need to re-finish or repair the original finish, seal the residual film of wax with shellac, then what ever you intend on using. If I am not mistaken Pledge contains silicon, and you can basically figure that it isn't going to be removed 100%. Failure to seal with shellac will cause you new finish to fish-eye or delaminate GAIR-OHN-TEED.

Hope this helps.