So you want to maintain the finish of your harp? Of course you do, it makes perfect sense that you would want to maintain the outward appearance of your instrument. Let me tell you what a finish is and what its function is.

Imagine a harpist performing under bright stage lights without makeup. While beautiful, the harpist’s face lacks definition. That is the visual function of your harp’s finish—to enhance the appearance of the harp. But the more important function of the finish, the real reason it’s there, is to protect your harp.

Say someone spills a glass of water on your harp. Without a finish, the wood of your harp would absorb the water. Or imagine some greasy-fingered kid checking out your harp. The kid’s dirt and grime would become embedded in the wood grain of your harp. The finish of your harp forms a mechanical barrier from the outside world that can harm it.

You can’t see every threat to your harp’s health. Imagine a fog so slight that it’s invisible to you, but potent enough that it can be absorbed by the wood of your harp, thus causing the very fine bundle of straws (wood fibers) that make up the wood of your harp to expand and potentially destroy the glue joints of your harp. This fog is called humidity. The finish of your harp slows the process of humidity absorption.

Finishing a harp appears to be as easy as playing a harp. It’s easy until you have to do it.

So, clearly your harp’s finish is not there for vanity’s sake; its role as protector is an important one. Now, lest any of you think your harp’s manufacturer simply throws some Minwax gel on your harp and calls it good, let me assure you this simply can’t happen. You have to prepare the wood surface for the finish. Maple (the wood from which many harps are made) is a pain to stain. Finishing a harp appears to be as easy as playing a harp. It’s easy until you have to do it. It’s not cheap either. The finishing industry publications that I have read place the cost of finishing a piece of furniture at 25–35 percent of the final cost.

Now, I cannot say whether 25 percent of the production of your harp goes to finishing, but for now let’s say it does. So for a $20,000 harp, that’s a $5,000 finish.

Back to the original question of how to maintain your harp’s finish. There is a lot you can do, and most of it is pretty simple.

1. Wash your hands.

2. Have anyone who touches your harp wash their hands.

3. Wipe your harp down in the areas where your body or face come in contact with the harp. Use a damp clean cloth after you apply sweat and makeup to your harp via your face. “No!” you exclaim. “That will rub the finish off my harp!” Correct, but keep reading.

4. Polish your harp with a water-based furniture polish. Think Goodman’s or Martin Guitar Polish or the polish your harp maker recommends.

5. Wax your harp where you and your harp meet. Think knees, shoulder, face, and forearm areas. Wax stinks as a finish but excels as a lubricant. Wax is not permanent. You will have to re-wax your harp. You should be able to find a good solvent-free wax online and follow its instructions. Oh yeah, please don’t wax the gold or the action. I’ll tell you how to clean your gold in a future article, and for action cleaning, stick to dusting with a soft brush or compressed air.

6. Use one of those heavy transport cover systems. This will help protect the substrate of your finish, a.k.a. the wood.

7. Use a harp cart of some sort and stop dragging the front foot of your gold harp on the parking lot’s concrete. (Yes, I’ve seen it done.) Really, just don’t drag your harp, if at all possible. Yes, there is a difference between dragging your harp three feet on a wooden stage with the harp resting on its metal thingamabobs and dragging it 30 feet on concrete with the harp resting on its metal thingamabobs.

8. Do not subject your harp to rapid extreme temperature changes, particularly going from cold to hot. The wood of your harp will expand much faster than the finish. This will cause your harp’s finish to look like shattered glass.

9. Do not leave your harp in a hot car. This can cause the transport cover of your harp to stick to the finish of your harp.

10. Make or buy a leather column cover for your harp column to protect it from dirty handling hands.

For harpists who transport their harps regularly for profit, I have some good and bad news.

First the bad news: You will scratch the finish of your harp. You will crush the bundle of straws that is the wood of your harp, thus forming a dent. The gold on the center of your harp’s column will be worn off from handling. Your harp will cosmetically suffer in any number of horrible ways, which you will do your best to prevent but fail.

The good news? Have you even seen a craftsman’s workbench? A workbench is a tool and has the scars to show it for the beauty it’s been used to create. Your harp is your workbench, an artist’s tool with which you will make musical memories and money. Just wash your hands first! •