Ivory Keys

[night_hawk]

Hello, everyone!
I recently bought a beautiful 1985 C. Bechstein B piano that is in mint condition.
It has its original one-piece ivories, and I have some questions about those.

How do I take care of them?
How durable are these keys (i.e. can I play glissandos on these keys like I usually do on plastic keys)?
How do I clean ivory keys?
What is the best way to prevent ivory keys from turning yellow?
What is the best way to prevent cracking?

Any and all tips and help are welcome!

Thank you very much,
Night Hawk

[chrisbutch]

Just on the 'yellowing keys' point. The usual advice is to keep the fall open for at least a couple of hours after the piano's been played. That's to allow moisture from the hands to dry off thoroughly. It's the humid environment when the fall is closed on damp keys which allows microorganisms to start growing on the ivory.

Generally speaking, however, the more the piano is played, the less attention the ivory will need!

[iansinclair]

Hello, everyone!
I recently bought a beautiful 1985 C. Bechstein B piano that is in mint condition.
It has its original one-piece ivories, and I have some questions about those.

How do I take care of them?
How durable are these keys (i.e. can I play glissandos on these keys like I usually do on plastic keys)?
How do I clean ivory keys?
What is the best way to prevent ivory keys from turning yellow?
What is the best way to prevent cracking?

Any and all tips and help are welcome!

Thank you very much,
Night Hawk

The best way to take care of them is to keep them clean!  Which starts, of course, with your own hands -- but then I would clean them (assuming you're playing a fair amount) once a week -- and the way I do mine is with a damp (not wet!) soft cloth.  If they do get a little grubbier, then a tiny (and I do mean tiny) bit of pure soap (in the US I use Ivory, but there are many others -- but what I mean is soap: no fancy lotions, fragrances, scents, herbal supplements, lanolin, etc. etc. etc.  Can be hard to find) on the damp cloth, followed by another damp cloth to make sure that any possible soap is removed.

As Chris said, the best way to keep them from yellowing is to keep the fall open and let them dry out completely.  However, they will slowly yellow anyway.  Sorry about that.  That is also the best way to keep them from cracking -- but they will probably crack anyway, with time.

On the glissandi -- they are almost as sturdy as plastic.  However, they are not as slippery.

[richard black]

Cleaning:

https://www.pianosupplies.com/pianos/Key-Brite.html

That, and simple 'elbow grease' - clean cotton duster and a bit of effort works perfectly well for regular cleaning.

I actually find ivory more comfortable than plastic for glassando. but I suppose it depends on your skin as well.

Ivory is actually incredibly durable in itself but the glue fixing it to the wood underneath is often the limiting factor. If an ivory gets lifted off the key, it can be refitted with PVA glue, after a quick clean-up of both mating surfaces. Best to do this with the key removed so you can clamp it all properly, but an in-situ repair can work too.

[flashyfingers]

Light bleaches the ivory. Do not do this. Do not ever leave the lid up. Invest in a key dust cover. This will also absorb moisture.

If you have ever played guitar, you would notice that the fretboard collects finger oils and gunk. You aren't supposed to scrape that off. It keeps the fretboard from being too slippery or too rough. My ivory keys look dirty but I tell everyone. You do not clean or bleach the ivory because it makes it more fragile. I keep the blinds shut when I play, as much as possible and NEVER clean them.

I agree that keeping your hands clean and never play with hands that are covered in lotion, food oil, etc. I would not use any wet or damp cloth, a dry paper towel is rough enough, to get the top layer of dirt off. Which is another reason why the finger oils are good on ivory. They form a layer around the ivory, a harmless layer that protects from other oils that could "dirty" the ivory.

[g_s_223]

Always wash (and dry) your hands carefully before playing.

[ted]

My 1971 Weinbach has ivory keys. After forty-three years a key top very occasionally flies off if a finger catches it the wrong way. My tuner told me to just sand things lightly and press it on with the fingers using Bostik clear without clamping. I have found his advice to be effective. Mind you, I am more principled these days, and would not buy ivory under any circumstances  but back then I was a bit ignorant. It horrifies me now, and I told him he could replace any pathologically warped tops with plastic ones.