[pianotech] permanent marker

[Barbara Richmond]

When I was TT&T editor I tested suggestions for removing permanent marker off of plastic keytops. The pink non-acetone fingernail polish remover took it off fairly quickly, but Flitz left a nicer polished finish (an is what I use when I run across the problem now). I suppose it could make a difference depending on what brand of marker, when I was testing I used Sharpies markers. 

Barbara Richmond 

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Formsma" <formsma at gmail.com> 
To: pianotech at ptg.org 
Sent: Friday, August 24, 2012 9:11:54 PM 
Subject: Re: [pianotech] permanent marker 

I remember the thread also. Seems like permanent marker on plastic might not be too hopeful...but you can try: 


Flitz polish 
Goof-off 
Rubbing compounds of various abrasives 
Sandpapers of various abrasives 


Worst case scenario, just recover the keys (or have it done). Plenty of folks advertise for this in the Journal. Might end up being cheaper to recover rather than spend hours trying to sand, rub, polish 52 times. I'd take two of the worst keys, hit them with 600 or 800 grit sandpaper, and see how much comes off. Continue until you get to your desired sheen. See how long that takes, multiply by 26, and you'll know roughly what you're into. 


Ron Nossaman leaves his white keys at 600 grit sheen, which feels good. Surprisingly. (Correct me if I'm wrong about the grit, Ron.) 


Or, get some white sharps and make all the whites black, like a harpsichord. ;-) 




-- 

John Formsma, RPT 

Blue Mountain, MS 



On Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 7:15 PM, Rob McCall < rob at mccallpiano.com > wrote: 



Greetings, 


My client has a Schafer & Sons VS-52 upright that they kept in a rental home. When that rental didn't turn out well, the renters decided to damage the piano. They reached in through the top and broke off a bunch of hammers along the shank and twisted and broke a bunch of butt flanges in the process, as well. It's a schwander type action so they didn't break any of the hammer butts with the plates, but just the flanges. Most of this stuff is pretty straight forward. 


However, they also took permanent marker and wrote on every single white keytop. I know someone had a fix for getting permanent marker off of the plastic keys. Any help would be appreciated. 


Additionally, I'm trying to write up an estimate to clean the keys. If someone has experience with just how long it takes to get permanent marker off that would help, too. Or any methods using power tools to speed the process... :-) 


Thanks, 







Regards, 


Rob McCall 


McCall Piano Service, LLC 
www.mccallpiano.com 
Murrieta, CA 
951-698-1875 








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