I am in the process of refinishing a set of ebony sharps and ivory naturals As Roger Jolly suggested, I sanded finish off the sharps, sanded them smooth w/ 400 grit, and applied black shoe leather dye to them. They look great! Shoe dye was easy to use also (also did the sides of the key with the black). Instead of laquer (which I thought might wear off too soon) I used Forsby's Tung Oil Finish. It looks pretty good, but after 2 days the finish is still kinda gummy. Is there any way to get that stuff to dry? If I can get it to dry, I was going to hit it with some 0000 steel wool & then buff. Regarding the ivories, several folks recommended hydrogen peroxide or wood bleach. Ok, but when do I bleach them? Before I sand (I plan of sanding w/ 400, 600, and then likely 1,000 grit before polishing)? After I do the first rough sanding? After I am done with all sanding? Just before the last sanding (I'm guessing that it might be best to do most of my sanding, say through 1,000 grit, then bleach, then hit the keys lightly with 1,500 grit before polishing)? And then how do I polish the ivories? Are there any specific compounds and/or buffing wheels that work best? Any that I should necessarily avoid? One last one. Several ivories are just starting to come unglued from the keys. It appears that most of the ivory is attached quite well, but on several you can push up on the lip and see that it is just starting to separate. Is there a good method of reattaching the ivory to the key without tearing all apart? I was thinking of just simply wicking a tad of thin CA under there, wiping any runs off with the solvent, clamping, and let cure with room humidity. Is that the best way? Is there any risk of thin CA soaking into the ivory and making it look funky? That's all the questions for now :-) Terry Farrell Piano Tuning & Service Tampa, Florida mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com
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