Painted keys

[jpiesik@arinc.com]

Jere writes:

The thing that disturbs me the most is the keys.  They are the original ivory
and seem to be in good shape other than they are a bit yellow.  Someone in
their wisdom did some cosmetic surgery and painted them white!  My question
is, is there a way to remove the paint?  I can chip some of it off but not
all.  I really would like to preserve these keys.

     Jere,

     I've done a significant amount of work with ivory.  I would hesitate
     scraping the ivory, except, possibly, a very small area. Your
     situation involves the entire surfaces of 52 natural keys.  The reason
     I wouldn't scrape them is that you run the risk of chipping the ivory
     as you are scraping away the paint.  Unless you could maintain
     incredible control during scraping, I wouldn't use the scraping method
     to remove the paint.

     I would use sandpaper to remove the paint.  Start with a 220 grit,
     back it with a very flat wooden block, and sand off the paint.  Be
     careful to sand the top of the key flat, keeping the surface of the
     sanding block parallel to the top of the key.  You may need to watch
     the build up of paint clumps on the sandpaper, too.  Be sure to keep
     the sandpaper clean.

     Once the majority of the paint is removed, move to a 320 or 400 grit.
     Finally, use white rubbing compound (automotive type) to buff them up
     to a beautiful sheen.  A buffing wheel works well, but if you don't
     have a buffing wheel you can still buff by hand with great results.
     It will take some time, but it will turn out very nice!

     Regards,

     John Piesik, RPT
     Piesik's Piano Service
     Carlsbad, CA
     JPIESIK@ARINC.COM