Mother of Pearl buttons on a CBA?

[tcabot]

Hi All.

Apologies for a daft question...
But do CBAs come with real Mother of Pearl buttons?
If they do, do they tend to yellow with age, and is there a good way to bring back the white shine into them?

Just bought a new (to me. Probably 1960s) box for me to grow into, and while I was thinking "It would be good to polish up these buttons as they are starting to yellow" I realised that the buttons might actually be real MoP... If I run a stanley knife tip over the back of them, it produces fine powder instead of chattering, like it does on a plastic button.

A separate question - what's the safest way to clean the outside of the newly acquired box? It's black. Almost perfect polish - not sure if it's celluloid or lacquer!
I have used a 50-50 mix of isopropyl and vinegar for bellows, insides and outsides before with good success, but it does haze the celluloid and requires a good polish after it. Since the box is already mirror polished, I don't really want to ruin it.

Thank you.

 

[Dingo40]

I've had success removing old nicotine stains from the baseboard of an elderly used accordion I own, using toothpaste on a rag.
Pepsodent toothpaste recommended (see here):
"You'll wonder where the yellow went..."

 

[tcabot]

Makes sense to shine your pearls with Pepsodent when you think about it.

The problem that I foresee is that MoP is a lot harder than plastic and probably yellows all the way through instead of just a surface layer...

My next question was how to clean between the buttons, and now I think I know the answer.

 

[Dingo40]

How about these?

About Us - Piksters

Erskine Oral Care is an Australian company and was established in 1992 by Dr Craig Erskine-Smith as a dental distributor to the Australian dental industry. Dr Erskine-Smith is a former dentist with over 30 years of clinical experience. Erskine Oral Care designs, manufactures and distributes...

piksters.com

 

[Dingo40]

Any relationship to John Cabot the explorer?
See here:

what was john cabot's second voyage - Căutare Google

 

[tcabot]

Not that I'm aware of.

Anyway, to answer my own questions:
1) Definitely MoP.
2) Definitely yellowing. A couple of the left side seem to have started crumbling
3) I think I'll try chucking them in a lathe and buffing with some finest abrasives, unless somebody proposes a better solution.

 

[Walker]

What make and model is the accordion? Can you show us a photo of it? Sounds like a very nice instrument.

 

[tcabot]

@Walker

Needs some work, but I'm absolutely blown away by the treble sound.
L in cassotto, and the rhs grille is designed almost like a closed sordina of a sort - there's no direct way for the sound to leave the box. The timbre is very smooth, yet it's a lot more powerful than my Belgian musette box (suspected Renato Massoni).
The second cassotto is an H, and there's MM-M+ outside.
The 3-voice musette+the sordina grille sound is very pleasant, but I'll probably commit an act of sacrilege and swap the H in cassotto for the M. Then re-tune M- into M for a bayan-style [M]M combo. That leaves me with a slot for the 5th voice that can either be used as a 2-voice musette (MM+), or I can experiment with adding another L course from a "spare" set of reeds.
If I can find a place that sells high quality reeds at a decent price, I might save myself the re-tuning trouble and just get a spare set of A440 reeds.
And I intend to keep the original reed blocks unadulterated, so that the box can always be returned back to 3-voice 20 cent musette and legally sold in Scotland.

There's winkelbass on the left side for the lowest octave, but I don't know how much it adds to the sound. It's a 3+3 French layout which is pretty much a mirror of the Belgian layout that I'm playing now. I'd really like a converter, but the budget was far too low to get everything on my wishlist.

Going by the tipo a mano reeds, MoP buttons and anodized green mechanics inside the box (with reedblock gaskets also colour-matched green!) I suspect this was not at the very bottom of accordiola model range at the time.

Just need to put in a few hundred hours of practice on my Roland before I'm worthy of playing this beauty.

In terms of other work required, it needs to be tuned and the bass-side pallettes should probably be swapped, as there's signs of moth eating the felt.

Anyway, I am extremely happy with this wee birthday present for myself, even if it takes a few months to get it where I want it.

 

[Walker]

Marvellous accordion! The real mother of pearl is hard to beat.

Enjoy it in good health.

 

[petch]

If I can find a place that sells high quality reeds at a decent price, I might save myself the re-tuning trouble and just get a spare set of A440 reeds.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe tuning will still be required as the reed block and general construction will affect the tuning somewhat. This is why new accordions get their final tuning once fully assembled

 

[tcabot]

Thanks - a fair bit of tuning is required anyway, even if I don't change anything, but fine-tuning an A=440 set should be a lot easier than eliminating a 15 cent musette detuning.

 

[petch]

Thanks - a fair bit of tuning is required anyway, even if I don't change anything, but fine-tuning an A=440 set should be a lot easier than eliminating a 15 cent musette detuning.

Yes, definitely! My standard bass accordion has Scottish musette and I don't know what to do with it.

 

[tcabot]

I like some traditional musette.
And now that I have a 3-voice and a 2-voice box side by side, the 3-voice is so much better that I don't really want to hear a 2-voice in strong de-tuning ever again . The 3-voice sound "flows", while the 2-voice "flutters" if I was to put a word to it. But I think having a 3-voice musette in a 5-voice double cassotto box is a bit of a strange combination, and I reckon I can get more out of it if I dry-tune the MM.

 

[tcabot]

@Dingo40

How do you clean old yellowed pearls?

White pearls can yellow over time, but it is possible to brighten them up again. The acetone in nail polish remover can whiten old pearls and clean away stubborn

www.calendar-canada.ca

"Pearls and opals should never be touched by toothpaste; it can destroy their colour and luster. So, unless you are cleaning a loose diamond, it is best to not use your toothpaste, and stick with a jewellery cleaner made to clean your specific jewels."

...for the risk of being misinterpreted, I am not going to ask you what you use to clean your specific jewels.


Two bits of advice I got off the internets were:
1) Use acetone-based nail varnish remover. Easy to procure - just ask any random lady you meet in the street if you can borrow hers for a minute.
I did notice some minor improvements after rubbing it into a button.

2) Place them in direct sunlight for a few days. Have no idea what this "direct sunlight" is, or whether one can find it in Scotland. Back to the chuck & polish on the lathe idea.

 

[Dingo40]

A last word from me

How to Clean Pearls Without Ruining Them

It doesn't get much more classic than pearls. These popular keepsakes manage to be dainty and sweet, yet bold at the same time. (Explains why they're a common choice for weddings!) Cultured pearls are delicate and require proper care. They can't be maintained the same way as other jewelry. Read...

www.jewelersmutual.com

 

[Ventura]

Sunlight has a limited bleaching effect and purification ability
from some of the wavelengths, but it can also "age" certain materials
from some other parts of the light spectrum, as we know from
things like "Sun colored glass" which turns lightly purple from
the trace amounts of lead reacting to sunlight over a long period,
or Geebsun Geetars where the purfling and pickguards turn cream colored

but we also see Accordion Keys that wither, become brittle, and crack to
pieces from sitting in a Pawn Shop Window due to Solar Radiation

so do be careful with deliberate application of the Sun, that fixing one problem
does not create another

i once sandwiched a warped, grey plastic Hohner grille between two heavy plates
of steel and left them in the sun to warm for a few days.. ironed out that curve nicely
and it has held it's place ever since.. no Rhinestones were harmed during the process