getting the yellow out.

[Paul Kupelian]

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Garland,

This very item was covered in a class given in Nashville, and I have
followed the same procedure with good results. First you need a good =
sunny
day.  Go to the drugstore or grocery store and buy some Hydrogen =
Peroxide.
Set the keys out in the sun and use a swab to spread the HP on the =
keytops
and then let the sun do its work.  Afterwards you can put the keys on a
buffing wheel to polish.

=20

Good luck,

Paul Kupelian, RPT

=20

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of
Wimblees@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, July 24, 2004 2:17 PM
To: caut@ptg.org
Subject: getting the yellow out.

=20

Garland Goodland, RPT, of the Western Carolina Chapter, asked about =
getting
the yellow out. Here is his original post.=20

=20

How do I remove the yellow coloring from old ivory keytops? I have tried
sunlight and Hydrogen Peroxide. Don Valley, RPT, let me have some 35%
solution H2O2 and I tried it, but to no avail. I seem to remember an =
article
in the Journal about this; please direct me to it if you can. Otherwise,
just tell me what to do, since Don and I do not know at this point! =
Thanks!=20
_______________________________________________
I answered with this.=20

=20

The only other method I've tried, with some limited success, is black =
light.
You can buy 4' tubes of florescent black light tubes at most hardware
stores.=20

=20

Get a 4' two tube shop light, and mount it about a foot over the keys. =
Then
soak cheese cloth in H202 solution, and cover the ivories Let it sit for =
a
couple of days. The cheese cloth will dry out, but the H202 will absorb =
into
the ivory, and the ultra violet rays of the black light will lighten up =
the
ivory.=20

=20

I don't think I ever got all the yellow out, but the keys did look a lot
less yellow

=20

=20

To which Garland replied:

=20

Dear Wim, Thanks for the advice. What I have done so far is to sand the
keytops with 220 wet paper to even up the joints between heads and =
tails.
That got most of the yellowing off, but there is still some yellow here =
and
there, which looks worse than before!

=20

Don suggested putting a rag soaked in H2O2 over the keys, but all that =
did
after a day was to curl some of the tops and cause them to fall off. I =
wet
one side again (just water) and waited until they were flat again to put
them back on the keys. I don't really want the ivories coming off =
because I
have to sand again when I put them back on. But I would like to lessen =
the
yellow before I polish the ivory on the buffing wheel. Buffing might =
remove
some, but I don't plan to remove significant ivory in polishing.

=20

You say that the "black light" helps, but you also say that you have not
been able to remove all the yellow. Maybe I will hear from some more =
people,
or can find the Journal article.

=20

=20

Does anyone have a better idea, or can tell Garland which Journal the
article is in.

=20

Garland's address is garland@main.nc.us

=20

Wim=20

Willem Blees, RPT
Piano Technician
School of Music
University of Alabama


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