What Should I Use To Buff/Polish Keys?

[V301J]

I bought table top buffing machine...the one with two wheels spinning vertically. What buffing and polishing compound should I use? And what kind of wheel should I use for the polish and for the buffing compound? I don't want to melt the plastic or make it worse in any way.

[BerneseMtnDog]

What speed does it spin at?  For plastics you usually want slow as in around 800-1000 rpm.  For my Rhodes I used the brown stick first which is for buffing out course scratches followed by a white compound for fine polish.  I use a guitar buffing wheel and these compounds:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_supplies/Buffing/Menzerna_Compounds.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=423
I'm not sure how their colors translate to other manufacturers though.  The key is to not have the buffing wheels spinning too fast.  The heat builds up and melts things.

Steve

[V301J]

What speed does it spin at?  For plastics you usually want slow as in around 800-1000 rpm.  For my Rhodes I used the brown stick first which is for buffing out course scratches followed by a white compound for fine polish.  I use a guitar buffing wheel and these compounds:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_supplies/Buffing/Menzerna_Compounds.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=423
I'm not sure how their colors translate to other manufacturers though.  The key is to not have the buffing wheels spinning too fast.  The heat builds up and melts things.

Steve

Mine rotates 2,000 rpm minimum I'm going to try it with old keys I don't really need and see what happens. Thanks

[OZDOC]

The old school 'by hand' approach is as follows.

Depending on the depth of scratches or burns start first with 'waterproof' emery paper wrapped around a small (2" x 1" x 1") block of wood.
The wood block stops you from making depressions in your keys by sanding too much in one spot.
I sand wet if it's an all plastic key and dry otherwise.
For deep scratches and burns I start with 240 grit.
For light scratching I start with 600 grit
From wherever you start work through each grade of paper until you get to 1200.
EG - 240, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200.
Always sand in one direction only - usually the long axis of the key.
And sand all the key - or all the top surface of the key - not just the scratched part, each time.
What you're doing is progressively making the scratches everywhere smaller and smaller.
I then use NOVUS #2 Fine Scratch Remover plastic polish applied by hand rubbing with a small (1.5" x 1.5") folded pad of cotton cloth.
Once again rubbing in one direction only.
This process will give you keys that don't develop all sorts of random reflections due to over-sanding or over polishing one area.

[cinnanon]

Wanted to share my method derived from OZDOC

3M Imperial Wet/Dry sandpaper (wet) 600 grit, 1000 grit, 1500 grit, followed by RainX headlight restorer.

Overall removed about .002" from the surface

Note the new coat of paint recommended from Steveo: Rustoleum American Accents Sienna Stone sprayed over top of Rustoleum Painters Touch 2x Ultra Cover Paint+Primer in Satin Fossil color

[voltergeist]

Man, I dunno about painting keys.  I wouldn't go there, myself.  It looks good now, but how it will look in 5, 10, or 20 years is another question.  Little cracks in the plastic aren't a big deal, imo.  I'd take well-buffed keys with some signs of aging over painted keys any day.

As far as rpm, too slow is better than too fast, but a slow rpm will make the job take a lot longer.  I use a two-speed Eastwood machine (1720/3450 RPM).  1720 is not too fast by any measure.  3450 works, too, and much faster, but one must be very careful and pay close attention at that speed.  I cut my teeth at 1720, but after having done several hundred keys I moved up to 3450.  Buffing at 1720 seems to take forever now.  3450 is not too fast if you know what you're doing, but you really need to stay focused, use a light touch, and keep moving.  800-1000 rpm is very safe, but omg does that sound tedious.

I use plastic buffing compound followed by white rouge, both on pleated buffs.  Both buffing compounds are available at most local hardware stores.  For a piano with damaged keys (gouges, burns, what have you), I do sanding down to about 2000 before buffing.  Buffing after sanding is a lot more work, so I avoid sanding unless absolutely necessary.  If you sand one key, you have to sand them all to keep the color consistent.

This is the buffer I use:
http://www.eastwood.com/1-hp-buff-kit.html?reltype=2&parent_id=3446

[pianotuner steveo]

No, I did not recommend painting keys. The paint referred to above is for cabinets of 112's, 120's & 140 series. You can see it in his picture. Excellent job, BTW.

I use Meguier's plastic polish on keys if they aren't too bad.

[voltergeist]

No, I did not recommend painting keys. The paint referred to above is for cabinets of 112's, 120's & 140 series. You can see it in his picture. Excellent job, BTW.

I use Meguier's plastic polish on keys if they aren't too bad.

Oh, now I get it.  That makes more sense.