Well Gargoyle is very helpful, but he does have a sense of humour! I would strongly recommend against any such viciously drastic treatment treatment if you are not experienced - you will totally destroy the instrument! Application of such a corrosive mess will need to be rinsed off immediately with water! - and you will have to remove the reeds to do that! - unless you really want to put a garden hose inside the wood casing which will utterly destroy it! And it most likely is not the reeds themselves, but the tiny flaps of leather which may be stuck - and they abhor moisture! If the instrument has not been stored in the proper orientation they may be bent out of shape and need replacing - a relatively cheap and minor operation for the experienced - only if it has been stored in a very humid environment tout of a case may the reeds be rusted.

I would first recommend you to read the thread Technique: Piano Accordion for The Recycled Muso which answers some of your queries.

Most of us don't use all the rows all the time! You don't worry about not using all the keys on the keyboard of a piano all the time do you? The reason for using such bigger instruments is not the bass buttons, but they usually have many extra sets of reeds which give extra tone.

Please

1) count the black and white keys on the keyboard

2) count the number of tone controlling switches on that side

3) count the number of similar effecting switches on the buttons side

4) look for any writing on the instrument - brand name, model numbers etc.

We would seriously be interested in helping you identify it.

A 'new' instrument basic 120 bass in Australia is AU$10,000.00 starters - 'smaller' boxes are not much cheaper - for a couple of hundred dollars you can get most instruments restored to playability easily from a reputable repairer - most of the charm of older boxes is their particular tone - if you don't like the tone - get another one - someone else will take the box off your hands!

Robin