Ivory's

[Ronald R Shiflet]

Dear List,
	On the subject of buffing, I have spent quite a bit of time with
my wife (who is a band instrument repair technician) buffing band
instruments, keys,  keytops, etc. and I'd like to add to what has been
said.  Different compounds are used and each has its place.
	There are 3 main types of grease compounds used in buffing,
namely:  Tripoli,  new white and rouge.  Each has it's place and out of
place can yield anything from lower quality work to disaster.  Keep in
mind we use all 3 and I'm not convinced that all 3 have their place in
piano work (except maybe on the brass).  All three have to be considered
for courseness and cleanliness.
	Tripoli is both course and dirty.  It's not as dirty as rouge.  In band instrument repair, tripoli buffing is referred to as "cut buffing"
 With brass, it is the first step, not the last.  It tends to be messy
and leaves a courser finish.  It's like stopping after sanding with 80 grit sandpaper.  Using a dark grease like this can easily get on the sides
of the keys and would be really difficult to get out of the wood.  I
would never consider it on keytops.  It is wonderful on old pedals.
	New  White is clean but unfortunately it is a little rough.  It
is medium in grit, not smooth.  Due to its whiteness, it is the choice
for keytops, leaving a nice,  white finish.
	Rouge would be the best choice but it is extremely dirty.  It has
the capabilities of leaving something so dirty that you can never get all
of the red out.  In band instrument repair, buffing is so dirty that it
is done in separate rooms with filtered vents.  Refinishing pianos
cannot even begin to hold a candle to the dirtiness of buffing,
especially rouge.  It leaves a red dust everywhere.  It does not wash
off with water but needs a solvent.  With full eye and facial protection, it goes everywhere.  It blows red out your nose, shampooing 3 times
still leaves red water.  In band instrument repair, rouge has to come off the brass with heated trichloroethane, sprayed under pressure (of
course the EPA has to be there too).   Rouge is usually buffed at slower
speeds.  In band instrument repair, rouge is referred to as "color
buffing".  It shouldn't be used for keytops since it could get them so
dirty, that they could never be cleaned.   There is a possibility that
rouge used in small amounts by handragging, could be controlled,  but on
a buffing wheel,  for high lustre, forget it... it's everywhere.
	Sadly, New White is the choice.  It's pretty clean but the finish
still isn't as smooth as it ought to be.  If only they could make a white
rouge.
	You can obtain these compounds from several places, the 2 largest
being Allied Supply and Ferrees Tools.  They have a lot of neat tools
which can be used in pianos and it wouldn't be a bad idea to get their catalog.  I love their lightweight, precision,  swivel screwdrivers to loosen damper heads.

Allied Supply:  Elkhorn, WI
1-800-558-3226

Ferrees Tools:  Battlecreek, MI
1-800-253-2261

Ron Shiflet, RPT
Phoenix Chapter
Ron_and_Lorene@Juno.com