Can piano keys be repaired?

Many people are not aware that chipped ivory piano keys can be repaired. There is actually a product called AcryliKey that is made specifically for this purpose. Similar in nature to dental epoxy, AcryliKey is a special powder that is mixed with Acrylic Monomer Liquid and applied to the chipped piano key.

moorepiano.com - Ivory Piano Key Repair

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Repairing chipped ivory piano keys

Cleaning ivory piano keys

Whitening yellowed ivory piano keys

Replacing ivory piano keys

Repairing Chipped Ivory Piano Keys

Moore Piano is pleased to provide ivory piano key repair services to our clients in northeastern Indiana and northwest Ohio. These services include: Many people are not aware that chipped ivory piano keys can be repaired. There is actually a product called AcryliKey that is made specifically for this purpose. Similar in nature to dental epoxy, AcryliKey is a special powder that is mixed with Acrylic Monomer Liquid and applied to the chipped piano key. You can actually buy this product and do the repairs yourself, but the process can be quite laborious. Here’s how it works: First, use a mixture of mild hand soap and warm water to clean the ivory piano key, and then remove all soapy residue with a water-dampened cloth. Using a small file, file down the chipped area of the key, making sure to get rid of any remaining dirt in the process. Take a sharp knife and cut a small channel all the way across the key front. Take a plastic cup and mix the Acrylic Polymer Powder with the Acrylic Monomer Liquid (add a little bit of the Yellow Acrylic Polymer Powder if you need to in order to match the color of your piano keys). Using a toothpick, apply the mixture to the ivory key that is in need of repair. Use the toothpick to keep the mixture in place until it begins to harden. Sand down the key after the mixture has dried, and then buff it with a buffing wheel and appropriate buffing compound until it looks just like the rest of the keys. As you can see, there are quite a few materials required for this process, which is why we recommend having a professional like Moore Piano do the repairs for you. The following “before and after” pictures are an example of an ivory piano key that we repaired. Contact us today to request a quote on our services.

Ivory piano keys before repairs

The same keys after repairs were made

Whitening Yellowed Ivory Piano Keys

In addition to repairing broken keys, we can also clean and whiten ivory keys that have yellowed. Again, this is something that you can try doing on your own first, but be very careful as using improper cleaning solutions or techniques can damage the keys. One thing you can try is moving your piano to a sunny area, as the sunlight can help bleach the keys. However sunlight can damage your piano in other ways, so this isn’t necessarily recommended. We use a special bleaching process on the keys to whiten them, as pictured below. Our whitening process uses commercial grade hydrogen peroxide and a strong UV light.

Ivory piano keys undergoing a bleaching process

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Why did they change the color of piano keys?

By switching the colours, the black spaces became highly visible and playing became easier. Another suggested reason relates to the difference between the prices of ivory and wood.

thepiano.sg - Piano's Black Keys Were White, and White Keys Were Black In The Past

Take, for example, the fortepiano that famous composer Mozart used in the 18th century. The instrument that Mozart used to write his late compositions till his death in 1791 had a mostly-black keyboard, with the white sharps standing out. While nobody knows the exact reason for the switch to today’s colour configuration, several theories have been presented. It was also suggested that the black keys on the piano made it difficult to detect the spaces between the keys. This, in turn, led to difficulty in telling the exact locations of the keys. By switching the colours, the black spaces became highly visible and playing became easier. Another suggested reason relates to the difference between the prices of ivory and wood. Due to its scarcity, ivory has always been dearer than wood. Since there are less black keys on a keyboard, switching the key colours meant using less ivory to make a piano and making it more affordable to composers and pianists. This may explain why some harpsichords had black naturals and white sharps. Today, nobody knows for sure why the keyboard’s colours have been reversed. There is no definitive record on this and the real reason is anybody’s guess. While we continue to ponder about this surprising change, it might be entertaining to think about Chopin's "Black Keys” Etude being played on a piano whose sharp/flat keys are white.

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