Pianotech

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussions: Concert Level Regulation and Preparation and Pianotech .
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A piano teacher with a Kawai GE-30 says the keys are starting to get gray in the middle section where the kids play the most.  She hasn't been able to get the gray off.  She says she doesn't use hand sanitizers or anything similar.  One: Any ideas on what might remove the gray? I'm going to try Cory Buff-Brite.  Two: Any ideas on what might cause this grayness?

Thanks.

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Brittney Kirk
Provo UT
801-687-3817
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I'm having a similar issue with a Kawai here also. I haven't seen the piano yet but the customer describes it as a 'shadow' on the keys. She has been asking students to use hand sanitizer.

Brittney, did you have any luck with your issue? I see your original post was last summer.

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Paul Clement
Mississauga ON
gtatuner@yahoo.ca
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This could be a warranty issue.  My Kawai customer had discoloring in the heavy playing area of the keytops.  The selling store buffed out the discoloration but it came back.  Kawai was aware of this problem on some sets of keytops and will cover replacement of all keytops under warranty repair.  My customer is happy now.

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Michael Ello
Richmond TX
281-633-0622
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This piano has the NEOTEX ivory substitute keytops, and they have become dirty. These keytops are porous, very much like ivory, and they start out polished and sealed from the factory. As they age and are played and used over the years the dirt can gradually work into the material and discoloration. If you look very close under bright white, you will notice that the darker areas are also less shiny - they original polish has worn through, allowing the dirt to work into the pores. Like ivory, just cleaning the surface doesn't get it all out – some discoloration is a little deeper than surface cleaning can get out. With ivory you would need to wet sand and polish the keytops again, and this works on the NEOTEX keys as well. Instead of sanding, though, we have used the "Mr. Clean Magic Eraser," a small sponge that you wet and scrub with. It will leave the surface slightly dull, so the keys can then be polished if the customer wants them to be shiny like new. Many pianists prefer the dull surface because it feels more like ivory, but this makes the keys get dirty again pretty fast. The Magic Eraser does get the deeper dirt out and makes the keys look bright and even in color. Instead of using a buffing wheel afterwards I like to follow the cleaning with automotive wax that includes mild polishing properties, and just polish each key by hand with a soft cloth. This will seal the pores in the keytop and keep the keys from holding the dirt. It's more efficient to take the stack off and remove the keys to do this. It's a few hour's work. New keytops are not required - new ones of course start out polished and sealed, so it takes a long time for the surface to become dulled from use and cleaning before it starts to get dirty the first time. Cleaning the original ones and sealing them with wax will give the same results. But this material is by nature going to become open pore over the years, and just like ivory will allow dirt to become embedded. It's interesting how people see old, yellowed and stained ivory and it's OK, because they can say it's "genuine ivory." But with the man-made substitutes they expect them to stay looking even and white forever . . . I remember in college trying to clean the ivory keys on a Baldwin grand at the school, and it was just like this - grey and dirty near the center of the keyboard, white at the ends. But I did enjoy the feel of those keys! Don Mannino

Thanks for the great info Don! As usual you are superb!

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Edward McMorrow
Edmonds WA
425-299-3431
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-25-2015 11:58
From: Donald Mannino
Subject: gray keytops

This piano has the NEOTEX ivory substitute keytops, and they have become dirty. These keytops are porous, very much like ivory, and they start out polished and sealed from the factory. As they age and are played and used over the years the dirt can gradually work into the material and discoloration. If you look very close under bright white, you will notice that the darker areas are also less shiny - they original polish has worn through, allowing the dirt to work into the pores. Like ivory, just cleaning the surface doesn't get it all out - some discoloration is a little deeper than surface cleaning can get out. With ivory you would need to wet sand and polish the keytops again, and this works on the NEOTEX keys as well.

Instead of sanding, though, we have used the "Mr. Clean Magic Eraser," a small sponge that you wet and scrub with. It will leave the surface slightly dull, so the keys can then be polished if the customer wants them to be shiny like new. Many pianists prefer the dull surface because it feels more like ivory, but this makes the keys get dirty again pretty fast. The Magic Eraser does get the deeper dirt out and makes the keys look bright and even in color.

Instead of using a buffing wheel afterwards I like to follow the cleaning with automotive wax that includes mild polishing properties, and just polish each key by hand with a soft cloth. This will seal the pores in the keytop and keep the keys from holding the dirt.

It's more efficient to take the stack off and remove the keys to do this. It's a few hour's work.

New keytops are not required - new ones of course start out polished and sealed, so it takes a long time for the surface to become dulled from use and cleaning before it starts to get dirty the first time. Cleaning the original ones and sealing them with wax will give the same results. But this material is by nature going to become open pore over the years, and just like ivory will allow dirt to become embedded.

It's interesting how people see old, yellowed and stained ivory and it's OK, because they can say it's "genuine ivory." But with the man-made substitutes they expect them to stay looking even and white forever . . . I remember in college trying to clean the ivory keys on a Baldwin grand at the school, and it was just like this - grey and dirty near the center of the keyboard, white at the ends. But I did enjoy the feel of those keys!

Don Mannino