Cleaning Ivories

[A440A@aol.com]

        I have to agree with Bill Ballard,  I have used alcohol to clean and
polish ivory, many instruments for many years, and I have no problems with
the keytops warping or loosening.
       If it is true that ivory "absorbs" finger moisture and oils, then that
little piece of an elephant's pride and joy, is gonna be one soggy wafer on a
well used piano.  I question the absortion  explanation
      I think that the feel of ivory comes more from its microscopic texture
being of higher relief than the thickness of the human  oil film.  Because of
this, the "peaks" of the ivory texture, (I am NOT talking about the visible
grain of the material), will always poke through the film and allow physical
contact with the finger tip,  which we know is sensitive enough to feel the
difference.
        With plastic, you are only actually touching the material at the
start of the performance,  as soon as the keys are covered in an oil film,
there is a layer of insulation between skin and material. This changes the
"traction".

Anybody looked at plastic and ivory under a microscope?  I did long ago, and
remember there being a vast difference at a particular magnification, just
don't remember what power scope I was looking through.
Regards