Cleaning Up Contact Cement

[Tom Driscoll]

-I once worked in a cabinet shop using contact cement for plastic laminates
> Lacquer thinner is the solvent and if applied with a syringe@ the glue
joint the top should release easily> Ventilation of course important>  Tom
Driscoll>
----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan Kline" <sckline@home.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, September 16, 2000 10:42 PM
Subject: Re: Cleaning Up Contact Cement


> >>Tom,
> There is a citrus cleaner that will clean the keys up without a lot of
chem.
> odor etc.
> It takes a little longer before you can resurface the key ( 24 hours ) but
> it is worth it to avoid the smells.
> Susan? what was that stuff?
> Joe Goss<<
>
> Sorry, folks, my computer was in the shop for a few days this week
> (what withdrawal pains!!!) so I just now saw this, as I was bumbling
> around the archive, seeing what I missed.
>
> The citrus stuff, which smells so nice, is usually called "citrus
solvent".
> A brand here in the northwest is Citrasolv, but there are others.
>
> It's non-toxic, and usually does pretty well with hardened old crud.
> It's fairly oily for use around bare wood, though. Joe, did the
> glue stick okay after 24 hours? I suppose I should pour a little
> into a bottle cap and let it evaporate, and see what is left.
>
> I've used citrus solvent
> to clean up adhesive from note name labels on top of ivory, not
> on the keystick itself. On the other hand, if you use it instead of
> toluene, your liver will thank you. Citrus solvent doesn't hurt
> ivory, anyway, though it might turn some of the older celluloid
> fronts gummy. I've used it, in small quantities, around newer
> plastic keytops, but carefully, and it was okay. Once I tried
> to get some gum from a price label off a plastic ruler, and Citrasolv
> clouded it instantly, so there is one kind of plastic which it melts.
>
> Have you softened the contact cement with an iron and wet cloth?
> Did it let you remove cemented ones, levering with a knife
> blade?
>
> Susan