Gary Rasmussen wrote:

> The keys...were GROSSLY yellow.  I don't think I have seen many pianos
> this bad. ... I tried everything to whiten them ..ended up sanding them
> down, ... then buffed them out.

Please permit me to contribute my own experience, as an employee of a
pipe organ building firm which maintains a certain large Aeolian-Skinner
pipe organ.  Last year, we did a significant upgrade on the console,
including the task of restoring the console's appearance.  Since the
organist (extra-fine!) is a smoker, the keytops were yellowed by age and
nicotine.  My assignment was to correct the ravages of time, while
preserving the hallmarks of antiquity.

I first cleaned all the ivories with mineral spirits to remove finger
oils (sebum).  The dirtiest (nicotine-stained) at the middle of the
keyboard, we cleaned using #0000 steel wool _lubricated_ with mineral
spirits.  A few badly yellowed keys (almost orange) had to be bleached.
Household bleach in a 10% solution of warm water worked well.  We wished
to whiten the ivory, but only to the point of matching the other keytops.

I monitored the process closely and rinsed generously.  The resulting
ivory is porous, requiring some fresh, _clean_ sebum (your clean face is
a good source) buffed to a nice luster with a soft cloth.

Other chemicals may be less harsh than chlorine bleach.  Anyone using
abrasives like steel wool, sandpaper, or rottenstone should _always_ use
an appropriate lubricant (water, mineral spirits, or oil.)

I've not been able to make spring clamps (even those designed for this
purpose) work well for gluing keytops.  My hands are probably not so
steady as Gary's.  Since a spring clamp's pressure is curvilinear (i.e.
torque), shear force is easily induced.  IMHO, C-clamps or weights are
better, being sure to put blocks between clamp and key.  Also, hang your
clamp so its weight will not encourage the keytop to move.

I hope others will contribute their experiences as I am always on the
lookout for better ways.

Regards,  Robert Linnstaedt

"Correcting the ravages of time; preserving the hallmarks of antiquity."