[CAUT] Yamaha sharps

[Michael Magness]

On Dec 14, 2007 11:00 AM, Jeannie Grassi <jcgrassi at earthlink.net> wrote:

> Alan,
> This also happened with a Kawai grand.  I ended up buffing out the whites
> just fine, but Kawai opted at the time to replace the sharps.  Same
> Japanese
> key maker supplying both companies??
>
> Now I am taking care of a mid-80 C3 with unusually dirty keys and I think
> it
> might be the same thing.  Does anyone know the exact years that this
> problem
> existed?  Thanks
> jeannie
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Alan
> Crane
> Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2007 4:10 PM
> To: College and University Technicians
> Subject: Re: [CAUT] Yamaha sharps
>
> At 08:53 AM 12/13/2007, you wrote:
> >  Yesterday I had an unfortunate experience cleaning keytops. Yamaha
> >C-2 about 20 years old. ... a very thin clear finish on the sharps -
> >blistered so as to look somewhat
> >white.
>
> Fred,
>
> This is probably way off-the-wall but...
> In the mid-80s, about 20 years ago, I was working for the local
> Yamaha dealer (actually on staff there).
> Yamaha had just recently come out with their "Ivorite" keytops
> ________ wonderful feel to the plastic, supposedly a milk-based
> formulation (at least that was the hype at the time).
> But it wasn't too long before they began having problems with the
> Ivorite keytops getting dirty and being impossible to clean.
> It was a real problem for them and they even had technicians going
> around the country replacing entire key sets under warranty with the
> same problem cropping up again and again until... they discovered
> that the Ivorite wasn't getting any more dirty than normal plastic
> keytops do and it was cleaning up just fine.
> The stuff that wasn't coming off the keytops (that everyone had
> thought was dirt) was the stain from the black keys, a new
> formulation which evidently wasn't as stable as it was supposed to be
> and was being transferred to the Ivorite by the pianists fingers
> and/or the cleaning cloth.
> We were told that Yamaha immediately fixed the stain formulation and
> I never doubted it since the problem went away.
> However... I'm wondering if it isn't possible that, prior to finding
> the "right" stain formulation, the factory didn't start spraying on a
> clear-coat sealer in an effort to keep the problem stain on the
> sharps where it belonged.
> Now, this is all just daydreaming on my part and I have no evidence,
> anecdotal or otherwise, to support it.
> Its almost certainly not what you're dealing with... but... OTOH, the
> stain problem was very real while it lasted... and the time frame is
> about right...
> Just a thought.
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Alan B. Crane,  RPT
> School of Music
> Wichita State University
> alan.crane at wichita.edu
>
>
>
Hi Jeannie,

I have a C3 from early 1977 that just missed having those type of keys, I
have replaced them on a C3 from '86, a C5 from '84 and I'm about to ship a
set for a C7 from '87 so I would say from late '77 or early '78 through the
late '80's probably '89, when they began replacing the key sets which is
what they did when the pianos were still in warranty. I still have the old
keys from the "86 C3, they were barely 3 years old and Yamaha told me to
throw them away! Except for being gray not white they were in excellent
shape and I couldn't bring myself to do it. I repacked them in the box they
shipped the new ones in and I've had them ever since!

Just call Yamaha with the serial number and they will tell you. If they are
in that group they'll send a shipping box and an address to ship them to.
Figure on about 2 or 2 and a half weeks downtime for the piano. The person
that recovers them doesn't remove any wood from the keys so there is no
adjustment to be made just removal, packing, shipping and replacement. At
least that's what they claim, I'm shipping after Christmas, I'll let you
know.  <grin>

Mike
-- 
People who say it can't be done, should not interrupt those of us who are
doing it.
Michael Magness
Magness Piano Service
608-786-4404
www.IFixPianos.com
email mike at ifixpianos.com
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