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Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 1
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Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 1
My piano is 12 years old and the only issue I really have with it is the keys begin to sink and some will start to plunk when pressed down as if I have released the key when I haven't. It's a Kawai CN 470 digital. I decided to take the piano apart to see if I could find the source of the problem and I discovered it was the 1/16 inch thick gel tabs between the hammer mechanism and the key itself. Some were cracked and others had fallen off the platform completely. I moved all of the bad ones to the edges of the keyboard so the area I play the most would have the best ones left. This held up for a half a year or so. I've recently had to go back in again to re-position them as they've fallen off yet again. This time I decided to take pictures to ask for advice. Does anyone know where I can buy replacements of these rubbery gel tabs or what I might be able to use instead of them? They're about 1/16 of an inch thick, 3/16 of an inch wide and 9/16th tall. They are sticky on both sides and one side had a plastic covering where the key slides against it. Here are a few pictures:

Uneven keys before opening:
http://i.imgur.com/k00dTTU.jpg

"Good" keys:
http://i.imgur.com/qBTzt4Z.jpg

Good on the right, sunken keys on the left:
http://i.imgur.com/nYJwbEn.jpg

The bad section:
http://i.imgur.com/oJczXCh.jpg

Last edited by Simba007; 07/22/15 02:29 PM.
Joined: Sep 2007
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Simba007, I would advise contacting the dealer from whom the piano was purchased, and/or the Kawai distributor in your country. There is no guarantee that spare parts for the CN470 will still be available, but the dealer/distributor should be able to advise on any repair/refurbishment possibilities.

Kind regards,
James
x


Employed by Kawai Japan, however the opinions I express are my own.
Nord Electro 3 & occasional rare groove player.
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If the dealer has nothing, I'd see if using pieces of "tesamoll", a product line of tesa to insulate/stop drought through windows, doors etc. or equivalent (there are other vendors) would help.

See what the characteristics of the best of the remaining gel tabs are: size (mostly height), "springiness", power needed to deform, time to re-form etc. is and then see what material from the next home improvement store would fit :-)

Thanks for the photos, I always find this stuff fascinating. And good luck on the repairs!

One other thing: see if there is a "repair cafe" in your neighborhood, they are all over the world and the people there have a lot of ideas on which materials/products can be used to fix what.

Last edited by Hendrik42; 07/23/15 04:12 AM. Reason: Repair Cafe note

Kawai CN35. Daughter wanted a piano, so we got one. Now who'll learn faster? ;-)

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