Someone wrote: <<Hmm....(Nut shell) blasting...Would this work on key tops?>> No. Too hard. You should know that there are softer types of "abrasives" sold by suppliers, one type being corn cob bits. These might work on keys, polishing rather than abrading them. I have seen a machine shop with a relatively soft plastic grit. Not for use on piano actions, but salt or sugar is occassionally used in some applications. I think sugar is softer. I have blasted actions for over fifteen years now, and I still am using the original stuff I got in a 30 pound bag. I blast in an area of my shop where I can vacuum it up when finished. Doing that also cleans the grit, walnut or pecan shells in my case. The dust and dirt of the action, and the tiny wood fibers, sticks onto the cloth bag in my shop vac, the grit falls to the bottom of the can. So, I blast, vacuum it up, blow off the bag, dump the grit into a pile on the floor again, and vacuum it up again. Repeat as necessary. I originally tried washing the grit, not because I am cheap, which is true, but because I could not find any more Shellblast in the grit size I liked. Washing was more or less a disaster. Vacuum separation for cleaning works very well. Bill Simon Phoenix
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