hmmmm. Fenton ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Boyce" <David at piano.plus.com> To: "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 1:30 PM Subject: Clever Key Cleaning Customer > Yesterday I visited a new client. They have a small undistinguished 1920s > (overstrung underdamped) upright, fairly recently acquired. > > I noticed that about half the keys (celluiloid or some other plastic) were > very bright and white. Of the remainder, half were very discoloured but > clean, and the rest discoloured and extremely grubby. > > The chatty and pleasant 14 year old daughter, the one takiing lessons, > explained that they had cleaned the keys themselves. I asked how they > managed it, and that normally the safest thing was just a damp cloth and a > little detergent. She said they had tried a variety of things, including > the > damp cloth with detergent, but that this had only cleaned off the grime, > but > not made the keys white. > > "So how did you get them white" I asked, fascinated. The answer? Nail > Polish Remover! I asked what kind it was, explaining that they usually > contain a fair amount of acetone, which would be liable to dissolve > celuloid. She went and got the bottle and I had a sniff, and read the > contents. Sure enough it contains acetone, but not, it seems, in a very > high > concentration, and along with many other ingredients. The mother said it > seemed quite a mild one and took a while to remove nail polish. > > I tried "cleaning" a couple of keys with it myself, using a small swab of > cotton wool and it worked like magic! A quick buff almost immediately > after > with a clean cloth left the surface with a sheen, and pearly white. > > I guess what is happening, is that the liquid is just strong enough to > dissolve off a very thin layer, the discoloured layer, of celluloid, > without > damaging the surface at a deeper level. > > I'm amazed, and am rushing off to buy a bottle of that brand of nail > polish > remover! > > In the pic, what you see from bottom to top is: > > 1) Grimy unntouched key > 2) Key cleaned with detergent, clean but discoloured > 3) Key cleaned with the Nail Polish Remover > 4) Key half cleaned by me, one simple stroke of the swab with the nail > polish remover. > > It worked just as well on the fronts as on the tops. > > Best regards, > > David >
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