Refinish Ebony Sharps & Ivory

[Farrell]

Roger:

Will go dar. Will do dat. Tanks, Tanks, & more Tanks.

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Brandon, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Jolly" <baldyam@sk.sympatico.ca>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2000 8:32 PM
Subject: Re: Refinish Ebony Sharps & Ivory


> Now Terry,
>                  Dat's why I use the mist coat of lacquer. Bin thar, Done
> dat. <g.>
> Just buff with 0000 steel wool and mist coat, trust me you will like it.
> I find the very thin coat of lacquer does not tend to peel or chip, also a
> little of the grain character shows through.
>
> have a good day
> Roger
>
>
>
> At 07:42 PM 06/03/00 -0500, you wrote:
> >I am in the process of refinishing a set of ebony sharps and ivory
naturals
> >
> >As Roger Jolly suggested, I sanded finish off the sharps, sanded them
smooth
> >w/ 400 grit, and applied black shoe leather dye to them. They look great!
> >Shoe dye was easy to use also (also did the sides of the key with the
> >black). Instead of laquer (which I thought might wear off too soon) I
used
> >Forsby's Tung Oil Finish. It looks pretty good, but after 2 days the
finish
> >is still kinda gummy. Is there any way to get that stuff to dry? If I can
> >get it to dry, I was going to hit it with some 0000 steel wool & then
buff.
> >
> >Regarding the ivories, several folks recommended hydrogen peroxide or
wood
> >bleach. Ok, but when do I bleach them? Before I sand (I plan of sanding
w/
> >400, 600, and then likely 1,000 grit before polishing)? After I do the
first
> >rough sanding? After I am done with all sanding? Just before the last
> >sanding (I'm guessing that it might be best to do most of my sanding, say
> >through 1,000 grit, then bleach, then hit the keys lightly with 1,500
grit
> >before polishing)?
> >
> >And then how do I polish the ivories? Are there any specific compounds
> >and/or buffing wheels that work best? Any that I should necessarily
avoid?
> >
> >One last one. Several ivories are just starting to come unglued from the
> >keys. It appears that most of the ivory is attached quite well, but on
> >several you can push up on the lip and see that it is just starting to
> >separate. Is there a good method of reattaching the ivory to the key
without
> >tearing all apart? I was thinking of just simply wicking a tad of thin CA
> >under there, wiping any runs off with the solvent, clamping, and let cure
> >with room humidity. Is that the best way? Is there any risk of thin CA
> >soaking into the ivory and making it look funky?
> >
> >That's all the questions for now :-)
> >
> >Terry Farrell
> >Piano Tuning & Service
> >Tampa, Florida
> >mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com
> >
> Roger Jolly
> Saskatoon, Canada.
> 306-665-0213
> Fax 652-0505
>