A breakthrough on glue

[Mike Morvan]

List,
    At the risk of sounding like a salesman (which I am not), I feel I must promote a product that we have been using quietly with great success for many years now, and until recently unable to obtain in enough quantity to pass on.  We all know that there are dozens of ways to glue down new and old ivory and plastic, and there are just as many schools of thought on how to do so. This list can attest to that and debate it for a decade.
    Blackstone Valley Piano, as a business dedicated to proper keytop replacement, has the luxury of gluing down keytops in a workshop under controlled conditions. We are not in a clients home with the clock ticking, this changes the approach.

    Our glue (we call it Mineral plastic glue) is a Modified PVA and in most aspects similar to PVC-E. 
Similarities are:
it is water based, non-solvent
designed to bond porous (wood, ivory, bone, cloth, leather) and non-porous (plastics) materials to other porous materials
easy to use, when wet cleans with water
glue line remains flexible

    Where the similarities end, our Modified PVA glue:
dries perfectly white, not clear
produces grain tearing bonds
is thicker and gap filling

In our early years we found that when replacing keytops on old keyboards, PVC-E glue was simply to thin. Even after a "primer coat" or "glue sizing",  we were often stuck with a glue starved joint. After an exhausting search we found the Modified PVA.  When applying acrylic and mineral plastics, it's thickness allows enough of the glue to remain on the surface instead of being immediately absorbed in, promoting as I stated earlier a "grain tearing bond".

If working with new or old ivory, our  Modified PVA glue dries pure white, so it improves the appearance. This also works out well for people who don't like to use linen wafers or don't like to mix whitener in their glue. PVC-E, hide glue and super glue do not dry white and allow imperfections to show through the ivory. This glue's  thickness and gap filling qualities aid in filling in the little areas on keytops that get ripped out when removing worn heads or tails. When removing the old ivory and replacing it with plastic, this glue can compensate for a bit of unevenness on the keytop surface.

As I stated earlier, as a business, we have the advantage of working in a shop under controlled conditions. This glue sets up quickly but requires clamping overnight to fully cure, it is not a fast drying glue to use on the road or in a clients home. We sell it as "mineral plastic glue" on our website. 


I'll bring some to the Southeast Regional Conference in October, meanwhile, if this interests anyone or if you need some more information, feel free to contact me on or off the list.  Mike

Blackstone Valley piano
Michael A. Morvan
76 Sutton Street
Uxbridge, Ma 01569
(508) 278-9762
www.pianoandorgankeys.com
www.thepianorebuilders.com


    
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