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Hi folks!

My new August Förster 170 is less than one year old and equipped with ebony black keys made by the German Laukhuff.

Unfortunately, when I clean them with a damped cloth(only water, no alcool or cleaner), the towel gets black as the color wears off. Now, the keys already look like this:




What's wrong? Is this a normal behaviour of ebony keys?

That should not be normal. Contact your dealer. It's most likely an issue of warranty.

Thank you wimpiano.

I have already talked to my dealer and to some guy from August Förster directly.
The latter argued that the black color of the ebony keys is generally only be to be sweat-resistant but not completely water-resistant, so that it may wear off if the cloth is (too) wet or if too much pressure is applied.

On the other hand, my dealer tried it on a Grotrian (which also has keys made by Laukhuff) and nothing happened.

Disappointing that a high-end piano maker would try to weasel out on this!

I thought water was about the gentlest possible thing you could use to clean piano keys. There are people applying spray cleaners, toothpaste, polishes, etc. to other piano keyboards and not having the finish dissolve and rub off the black keys!

Sweat is way more aggressive then just water..

Looks to me to have been ebonized spruce. The A.F. website under the 170's spec's do not say anything about ebony wood keys, but says the keys are spruce.

Förster also wrote that the keys were produced according to German norm "DIN 53160 - schweiß.- und speichelfest" which literally means sweat and saliva resistant.

That sounds interesting because I already had my doubts about the keys being made of real ebony since on the edge of some keys there are some scratches. But ebony is said to be very hard and durable.

However, in the letter A.F. sent to my dealers, they claim that the keys are made of ebony.

I just see, that on the bottom of their homepage it says

"Others
fallboard brake and black keys of ebony wood"

I see that now too. My bad, but I still think they cheated somewhere.

from http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/gaboon-ebony/

>Color/Appearance: Heartwood is usually jet-black, with little to no variation or visible grain. Occasionally dark brown or grayish-brown streaks may be present.


The grain that seems to be there in your photo is very visible.

Or it is laminate, but why would one laminate hard wood to start with?

The ebony black keys on my pretty old Grotrian look still jet black without any visible grain at all. Like plastic but a bit matte, like that left key in the photo


The left key looks different than the other two?

In guitars and violins it's very common for streaky ebony to be over dyed to try to even out the color. Perfect ebony is scarce and expensive. Your A.F. keys are probably aniline dyed which is water soluble.

Kurt

The solution is probably to dye them again or with something else. If AF doesn't have recommendations of what and how, perhaps Aug. Laukhuff can advise you. I would think that AF would cover the cost of this service under warranty if you only used a damp water cloth and not a stronger solvent. I see they also have a contact page on their website.

I had a customer with a different brand of piano who carefully washed her hands and applied lotion before she played. The lotion proved to be the culprit when color started transferring from the sharps. Ultimately, she had to adjust her routine.

"Customer" or "idiot"? What pianist would put lotion on his/her hands and then sit down to play? Wouldn't it be obvious that the lotion would rub off onto the keys, and, if nothing else, cause them to become slippery?

That happened to me once. A young woman in a master class, about to play, put lotion on her hands and played - sort of. Then I was to play after her, but the keys were so slick from her lotion that I could not play.

Sheesh!

If indeed all you used to clean the keys is tap water, the excuses provided by August Förster are ludicrous. Any piano technician worthy of the title would find such excuses laughable.

This is inexcusable conduct for a top-tier piano manufacturer. This is an August Förster grand piano, not a "People's Republic Firewood & Piano Cooperative #13" spinet!

You said you received a letter from AF. Was the letter from AF's distributor - the German-American Trading Company in Tampa, Florida - or was it from August Förster GMBH in Lobau, Germany? You might want to consider contacting Annekatrin Förster directly about this matter. It's not a big company, and I believe she speaks English.

I suggest you go back to your local dealer and insist upon a solution, either from the dealer or from AF. If no solution is forthcoming, contact the Better Business Bureau or your state or local consumer affairs office. You could also contact the consumer hotline of a local TV station.

If all else fails, contact an attorney. The dealer just might fix your problem so as to be rid of you.

Thank you all for you responses and helpful advice.

I live in Switzerland and have already contacted my dealer two months ago. But so far, nothing really happened. Förster is still looking into the issue and seeks to find a solution with Laukhuff. They offered me to replace the sharps by plastic keys from Laukhuff they used to build in their pianos years ago. But somehow it seems like a bad idea to switch to an inferior standard.

Unfortunately, I'm still not sure if it is a common behaviour of real ebony keys to lose color. Does this issue arise with other brands such as S&S or Bösendorfer?

On this page http://www.pianoteile-baumgaertel.d...T4&ecskey=p83jcbool0nj1pcm88hgn2oig2 one can buy water-based black dye for sharps but also a finish for black keys. Maybe the latter is missing on my piano?