I would like to try collodion. I think it may be more flexible than lacquer. Stewart McDonald has a nitro lacquer they say is flexible to help reduce cracking of guitar finishes. I think that would be worth trying also... David Ilvedson, RPT Pacifica, CA 94044 Original message From: "Marcel Carey" To: "Pianotech List" Received: 12/7/2008 3:19:31 PM Subject: Re: [pianotech] Collodion vs Lacquer for hammer hardening Hi Jurgen, I use collodion and I find I like the tone it produces better than laquer. As for sources, I found mine in the drugstore in the first aid dept. It's also called liquid bandaid. I haven't got ether yet and I use acetone to thin it. I use about 1 part collodion for 5 parts acetone. I think humbly that it does not harden as much as the keytop dissoved in acetone. Now I'm no chemist, but I find there is less "ping" on the attack which I find preferable. In other words, the hammers don't get as hard as glass and I find it easy to voice down if I went too far. Marcel Carey Sherbrooke, QC In Europe, one traditional hammer hardening solution is collodion. My question: What is the difference between collodion and nitrocellulose lacquer? According to encyclopedias, collodion is solution of pyroxylin in ether and alcohol. Pyroxylin is apparently the term for partially nitrated cellulose. I read in one source that Pyroxylin can be used to make lacquer by dissolving it in volatile solvents. To me that sounds like making collodion. Are collodion and lacquer interchangeable? Are there any chemists or lacquer experts on the list? Does anyone in North America use collodion? Experiences? Sources? Jurgen Goering -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20081207/5c87e3ed/attachment-0001.html>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC