Keytop material?

Stan Kroeker stan@pianoexperts.mb.ca
Thu, 17 Jul 2003 16:47:15 -0500


Calin,

I do alot of keytop replacement and have got the process down to between 4 and
5 hours.  I use the ubiquitous molded plastic keytops all the time and I
believe the quality of the outcome is in all of the details, not just the
keytop material.   ie:  edges trimmed flush to sides of keys, consistant front
overhangs (where tops only are used), consistant square notches (always machine
cut), keysticks milled to preserve original key height, all sharp edges
softened (either with a file or by machine buffing), and finally, buffing the
new tops (they are always scratched right out of the box).  On old sets,
bead-blasting the keysticks is the icing on the cake   -   makes the set look
like new.   Seems to me all new piano keys are plastic.

Best regards,

Stan Kroeker
Registered Piano Technician

Calin Tantareanu wrote:

> Hello!
>
> I was wondering what material are you using for replacing keytops?
> I tried some plastic molded ones and they look like... plastic.
> Are there better alternatives? Something that doesn't have the plastic look,
> more like ivory.
> What are the piano factories using nowadays?
>
>  Calin Tantareanu
> ----------------------------------------------------
>  http://calintantareanu.tripod.com
> ----------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives


This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC