Plastic keytop repair

[Brian Trout]

Hi Clyde,

I had a collection of posts from the same topic a while back that went with
the death of my old hard drive.  But from what I remember, the Acrilikey
type stuff works good on real ivory, might work on ivorine, but was not
recommended for plastic keytops.

Judging from the 'quality' of the piano, I doubt your customer would spring
for a couple of hundred dollars for a key recovery job.  And trying to
replace just 3 of them wouldn't likely find a decent color match.

How deep are the chips?  Would it be possible to get rid of them by
sanding/shaving the front edges of the keytops to remove the chipped area?
If they're too deep, it'll take off most or all of the lip on the front of
the keytop.  Not my favorite thing to do, but it's an option, nonetheless.

If anybody has come up with a method to 'repair' the plastic keytops, I'd be
interested in hearing it too!

Good luck, Clyde.

Brian Trout
Quarryville, PA
btrout@desupernet.net

----- Original Message -----
From: Clyde Hollinger <cedel@supernet.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, September 17, 1999 7:54 AM
Subject: Plastic keytop repair


> Friends,
>
> Two days ago I tuned for an elderly lady who claims to have graduated
> from Peabody Conservatory and owns a 1940 Winter spinet (I know,
> something doesn't quite add up here).  Three of the keytops have nicks
> in the front edge.  She asked about having the nicks repaired.
>
> Advice?  I've heard about the chip repair kits but haven't tried them.
> Even though the yellowed keytop could be matched in color, wouldn't the
> color of the keytop change as one puts the finishing touches on the
> repair material with sandpaper or steel wool or whatever?  How should I
> advise this client?
>
> Clyde Hollinger. RPT
>
>