Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum AcrilyKey II

Nice job Jean. I will have to order some of that product and try it out. The video is good for showing the repair. The only thing missed was turning the key over to see the underside of the repair, the overhang of the ivory.

Next video….

Here you go Dan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWJ7fVvU9z4

Good one Jean, looks nice both sides.

I will order some of the materials. Speeding up the drying/curing process by adding more powder makes sense as a certain percentage of the drying process will happen by absorption.( into the powder.)

for the nail product, it dry fast and harden totally alittle later.
For that one I was said to use little powder.

After a few tests you know how much powder is necessary with the brush you use.

I just made about ten chipped ivories . once poilished it is neat.
But I only have white, (I will try some yellow tint if necessary)

Isaac,

Post videos, Ideally with the products you used, their names and composition.

Maybe even your procedure.

I am now sold on the fact that we can repair old sets of ivory.

Much easier than trying to match. And a kind of apology to the animals that died for it. If their tusks can live for decades, I feel good giving them another few.

Jean

The stuff dries fast, and stinks. What is really nice is that you can work it as it hardens.

So if it's a big chip, when it's fresh, 30 seconds or so, it runs. Too liquid.

After a minute to a minute and a half, it starts to gel. Now you can actually shape it. The kit comes with wooden type tooth picks, one end flat and the other rounded, they work all right.

Preparation is key. Gutters and flow patterns etc... Small plastic spatula type tools work better.

Timing is everything, this stuff dries FAST.

At five minutes you are already too late.

So, preparation is crucial.

Jean, we certainly use similar products. I made pics but it does not show the process.

I could make a video for the last ivory I have to do. The backing tope of double face tape can help to mold. I did not shape the paste much, only file later, (it is shaped a little while pouring it, with the brush) you gain time with the spatula Iwas afraid that the product did not hold well.

I wanted to see how they do in the nail trade , so to be sure to understand how they mix the powder, quantities.
Taking the powder directly in a cup, with the brush dipped in the liquid (in a small glass jar) is efficient to regulate the amount of liquid.
If the brush is dipped too frankly, too much powder adhere on it, but it you only take a little, you may put it without too much pressure on the brush.

On the akrylikey instructions, do they say make the mix on a glass plate ? I frankly find the mix easy to do, I am just unsure of the quantity to have the stronger bond. I also did not find any yellowish or cream looking powder, so I will make tests with yellow stain if necessary (concentrated stains for laquer and polyester) difficult to find the good color probably.

That is the kind of powder , it comes from Germany. I find the monomer in a beauty shop, and baught small jars and glass jar on the net, same supplier. All those products must be cheap, I have seen prices from 1 to 4 so some web sites may be exagerating.

Their burnishers may be worth a try (sanding block 1000-4000)

Very interesting thread, thanks for sharing the information.

About molding, it is done with a brush, in the nail trade.

A good solution (the adapted brush contsins quite some monomer)
Because it soften the paste better than a wooden spatula. The paste hardens very fast

They use an agent for better adhesion. Possibly only a cleaner with isopropyl.

This is worth to be tested if the adhesion is better. I just use pure isopropyl.

Hey Jean,

I wanted to thank you once again for starting this thread and the videos of this kind of repair.

I ordered some of this stuff after you showed me the video in this thread which was a year ago. I finally had time this week to mess around a bit and I like the results.

A tip about usage for yourself and everyone who tries this product;

At times when ivory gets thin along the leading edge (overhang) of the head, the ivory itself can appear opaque while the overhang appears more grey in colour, because there is nothing backing it from underneath.

I found today that while the mixture is still runny, a very thin coat can be painted on the underside of the overhang so that it appears opaque too. I used the runny mixture in the channel cut underneath the ivory head to do that part. This way the chip fill disappears completely.

Another way to do that;

When using the ivory glue wafers the excess wafer has to be cut away prior to heating the clamps and setting the ivory. I have been saving up a small tin cup of the cut away pieces of glue wafer, melted them in the glue pot with a bit of water and the glue that comes off gives the same result if painted on the underside of the overhang.

Thanks Dan!! I will give that a try next time. Did you take before and after photos?

And by the way, this thread is, to me at least, what this forum is all about. DIYers can easily search for them and there are no egos involved.

Hi Jean,

I didn’t think to take any before/after photos, as I am real busy at the moment. I have more to do next week and will take some and post them.

Thanks!

This is a good point Jean, I agree completely. Bonne santé.
Enjoy the cold there,at least you have power.

And a Happy New Year to you Dan!

Thanks Jean. I hope you had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year with lots of family, and friends present to enjoy the Holiday Season with.
Best of luck for 2014.