Linseed oil is possible but more likely, it sounds to me like someone tried to refinish these ebonies without sufficiently cleaning the old finish off. It is not the old finish that caused the problem so much as the oils from the hands of performers that was not cleaned off before new finish was applied. I agree with the razor blade scraping. AND the cleanup with naphtha or mineral spirits. Or use stripper to remove ALL the old finishes. Fine sand til totally clean then, if it is truly ebony you will be able to use your brass polishing cloth wheel (the black one) on your buffer and polish the ebony until it shines. The wax in the jewelers rouge will be all you need to make them shine. If they are not ebony the wood will not polish up but wear away. In such a case spray with black lacquer til built up then top coat with clear. D.L. Bullock St. Louis www.thepianoworld.com <http://www.thepianoworld.com> Piano World 2732 Cherokee Saint Louis MO 63118 314-772-6676 -----Original Message----- From: Joseph Garrett [mailto:joegarrett@earthlink.net] Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 10:19 AM To: pianotech@ptg.org Subject: Re: Sticky ebony... John said: "On a 1925 Steinway L the ebony keytops become sticky/tacky Does anyone have any ideas for a solution?" - John Silva John, Sounds like someone decided to "finish" the ebony with Linseed Oil! I'd take all the sharps off of the piano and give the ebony a thorough bath with mineral spirits/paint thinner. If it's something else, all bets are off.' Regards, Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon) Captain, Tool Police Squares Are I
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