keytops ivories & plastic

[JIMRPT@aol.com]

List;
  Over the years I have had excellent results repairing loose ivories by
working a (little)water between the keytop and wafer or wood and clamping
down with a head or tail plate as in putting on a  new keytop. I don't think
I have ever had to call back on any of these repairs, or restorations. Of
course the underlying wafer/wood must be clean before you can use this
method.
  As for plastic keytops, I use water based Elmers contact cement and am very
pleased with the results, and it doesn't mess up any surface you might get it
on. The only prep I do on the keys is make sure that there is no moulding nib
sticking down and I run each keytop undersurface over 120 grit sandpaper
lightly before applying cement.
  As for the dimpling that happens when strong solvent type cements are used,
it is really not the solvents but the atmosphere that the solvents create
between the key and keytop.  You see that union creates a perfect enviroment
for polystermites to grow and they have a voracious appetite for plastic.
Polyestermites were created by a laboratory for the CIA to use during the
early years of the cold war against the Soviet Union and their emerging
plastics technology.  Unfortunately they were allowed to escape and now
infest most of the known world. They show up wherever there is a overabudant
use of solvent type cements in conjuction with plastic materials. As proof I
ask you if you have ever seen this dimpling on Ivories?
Jim Bryant (FL)