Ivory bleaching question

[PIANOBIZ@aol.com]

On Sat, 27 Apr 1996, John Minor wrote:

>     Can somone point me to a few articles in the Journal on the
> subject of ivory keytop bleaching? Thanks.
>   John,
      There's an excellent article on bleaching ivories in the July,
1995 PTJ. It's by Richard Wagner, RPT, and is on pp. 35-6.
Steve Brady, RPT

Hello John
I would affirm the instructions included in that article on bleaching.  We
followed them to the letter in setting up a black light shelf in our shop.
 We used a cheap 48" shop-light
fixture and black light florescent bulbs.  Scuffing the ivories with fine
sandpaper, covering
them with hydrogen peroxide soaked paper towels, and then sliding them under
the black lights for 24 hours really works.  Do this while the keys are still
on the keyframe if it's a grand action (sharps removed).  We hang the light
only two or three inches above the keys.
The 48" black light bulbs are difficult to find.  I had to go through a major
electrical supplier, not my local lighting store.  We've been very happy and
this method really does work, without sanding off large amounts of ivory, and
without relying on the fickle presence of Mr. Sun. :)

David Sanderson
Pianobiz@aol.com