Tech/maintenance Yamaha powder paper - any good?

[atwl77]

https://asia-oceania.yamaha.com/en/musical-instruments/brass-woodwinds/products/accessories/powder-paper/

Can it be used for simple, preventative maintenance?

Or only use when necessary.

Or no, it's not good, don't use?

 

[Pete Thomas]

I don't know for a fact that it's no good, but I would never put any powder on pads as there is always a chance of there being some residue that could just make it worse. Naptha or lighter fluid does the job with no risk of building up gunk.

 

[PigSquealer]

https://asia-oceania.yamaha.com/en/musical-instruments/brass-woodwinds/products/accessories/powder-paper/

Can it be used for simple, preventative maintenance?

Or only use when necessary.

Or no, it's not good, don't use?

Good question.
Not a product for preventive maintenance. It’s a fix for the lack of maintenance.
Keep things clean and dry after use. Clean with naphtha as mentioned above.

 

[Jimmymack]

Devilish hard to find naptha these days with all the tobacconists gone.

 

[cappers]

Not a product for preventive maintenance. It’s a fix for the lack of maintenance.

I am rigorous with my cleaning and drying yet some of the new upper stack pads were sticking despite cleaning them after playing with lighter fluid.

I recieved a pot of Selmer 'No Stick' pad powder with my YTS-32, so I dusted the pads with a little bit of powder, and used a soft paintbrush to remove any excess. No more sticking! I've checked them and there's no gunk left behind. Only done it the once but it seems to have worked.

I've read/heard that Yamaha pads tend to be sticky at first but that might be net gossip?

 

[Jimmymack]

Even in lighter fluid naphtha seems to be vanishingly rare. I read that Zippo and Ronsonol no longer contain it. As far as I can ascertain Swan seems to be the only major supplier that does. I believe you can buy it in litre size containers for your barbecue (naphtha not Swan fluid) but that seems to be overkill for my needs.

 

[mark_addy]

I think 'Coleman fuel' (used by folks more choosy than me in their camping stoves) might be suitable for this purpose.

 

[cappers]

Even in lighter fluid naphtha seems to be vanishingly rare. I read that Zippo and Ronsonol no longer contain it. As far as I can ascertain Swan seems to be the only major supplier that does.

I use Clipper Universal Lighter Fluid. The can states 'Petroleum Distillate NOS (C08-C14 Hydrocarbons) EC/List No. 265-086-6'.
According to https://echa.europa.eu/substance-information/-/substanceinfo/100.059.151
it is Naphtha (petroleum), solvent, refined light.

 

[turf3]

I think 'Coleman fuel' (used by folks more choosy than me in their camping stoves) might be suitable for this purpose.

At least in the US, this is just gasoline without motor fuel additives. I think it's likely to be too aggressive a solvent.

 

[atwl77]

I've read/heard that Yamaha pads tend to be sticky at first but that might be net gossip?

Yesterday I took my YAS-82z out of the case after not playing it for a few weeks, and I notice some of the closed keys (e.g. the palm keys) feel a little sticky at first. But after pressing them a few times, they seem back to normal.

The notoriously sticky ones like G# were totally fine because I had them open using Key Leaves.

Not sure if this was going to be a long term issue with the hot and humid weather in my country (and apparently it will get even hotter next year), which is what made me think of the powder paper.

Guess maybe I don't do anything for now, as long as the sax is clean and dry before I store it... hopefully it'll turn out alright.

 

[wakyct]

For a while I was putting a strip of plain printer paper between the key and a sticky pad, like G#. Lately though I've noticed that if I randomly open the key as I'm passing by when I think of it it works the same. But I leave my horn out on the stand.

 

[PigSquealer]

I've read/heard that Yamaha pads tend to be sticky at first but that might be net gossip?

From new I do not know. I don’t see new ones😉
I can however confirm that current new factory Yamaha pads do stick. A dampened in naphtha earbud wiped around the tone hole rim, then gently closing the key usually works. This may take a few applications, but it works. I get asked often about the kissing sound. That’s a bigger issue. I use the same fix.
Maybe I should try the Yamaha pads papers again. It’s been five years since last used the product.
Naphtha is getting really expensive and hard to find.

 

[PigSquealer]

For a while I was putting a strip of plain printer paper between the key and a sticky pad, like G#. Lately though I've noticed that if I randomly open the key as I'm passing by when I think of it it works the same. But I leave my horn out on the stand.

Natural wood pulp coffee filters work. They are made to stay together when wet 😉

 

[PigSquealer]

At least in the US, this is just gasoline without motor fuel additives. I think it's likely to be too aggressive a solvent.

I have a partial gallon here that I bought 20+ years ago. Think I’ll give it a try. Plastic dome test of old dead pad first.
The old stuff is pure naphtha. Small container on the bench. Has very low vapor point. Insanely easy to light on fire.

white gas fuel at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

 

[PigSquealer]

Even in lighter fluid naphtha seems to be vanishingly rare. I read that Zippo and Ronsonol no longer contain it. As far as I can ascertain Swan seems to be the only major supplier that does. I believe you can buy it in litre size containers for your barbecue (naphtha not Swan fluid) but that seems to be overkill for my needs.

Zippo made in USA, CONTENTS: Light Petroleum Distillate. $7 /12oz.
7-11 convenience store brand made in Korea. CONTENTS: PETROLEUM DISTILLATE - NAPHTHA $6 / 5oz
They smell and work the same for me.

 

[thomsax]

I use "pad swabs" (washable, can be used over and over) to keep the pads dry and clean. Once a year I clean the pads with soapwater and cotton swabs. I think lighter fuel on a pad is a quick fix. To keep the tonehole rim and the area around the toneholes clean and dry is important as well.

 

[Jimmymack]

Zippo made in USA, CONTENTS: Light Petroleum Distillate. $7 /12oz.
7-11 convenience store brand made in Korea. CONTENTS: PETROLEUM DISTILLATE - NAPHTHA $6 / 5oz
They smell and work the same for me.
View attachment 36282
View attachment 36284

Ok, so Zippo does contain naphtha, good, I can probably find it in a store that sells the lighters. I love the internet for the way it gives you completely opposite answers to the same question. Do you find it does the pad cleaning job well?

 

[PigSquealer]

I use "pad swabs" (washable, can be used over and over) to keep the pads dry and clean. Once a year I clean the pads with soapwater and cotton swabs. I think lighter fuel on a pad is a quick fix. To keep the tonehole rim and the area around the toneholes clean and dry is important as well.

Yes this works. Still each of us live & play in different environments. So maintenance and care are a variable. Sometimes cleaning with soap & water is good. The you get one that this technique trashes the pad. But then again naphtha can do the same on an old pad. Gently test for best results is the way to go. Including trying Pledge.

 

[Ivan]

I've read/heard that Yamaha pads tend to be sticky at first but that might be net gossip?

I can however confirm that current new factory Yamaha pads do stick

They do stick

I have a 82z from new with ridiculously sticky pads that after a year are just about becoming less sticky... That's all pads, with the exception of octave pips... So that's the closed cups G# and low C# plus all the side/palm keys and the low Eb that all prised open with a snap, and the open cup B, A and G keys becoming stickier whilst playing

I found swabbing with water or with naptha helped for a short while, but all keys reverted to sticking as I was playing for a half hour or so. I applied acetone to no effect. I pulled paper, bank notes and solvent lubricated fabric between pad and tone hole multiple times

As a last resort (before contemplating what should be the completely unnecessary expense of a repad) I swabbed with a fiendish multi-solvent used to remove sticky labels (30% aliphatic hydrocarbons to dissolve, plus ionic surfactants to lift residue)

The label solvent was the most effective; the pads still stuck, though less quickly

A year on, after multiple rounds of swabbing with water/lighter fuel/label solvent, the pads are starting to lose their stickiness

To further point the finger at a Yamaha pad issue I had purchased another new 80z, before my current one, and returned it to the shop because of the exact same extreme pad stickiness, which I rated as the sort of defect that should prompt the shop to return the horn to Japan

The pads have not suffered from being subject to my treatments. Neither have they ever had any visible indication of a defect, blemish or unusual coating that would help explain the ludicrous degree of stickiness

 

[PigSquealer]

Ok, so Zippo does contain naphtha, good, I can probably find it in a store that sells the lighters. I love the internet for the way it gives you completely opposite answers to the same question. Do you find it does the pad cleaning job well?

See my above post comments. Keep in mind the formulas can vary from country to country. Ya know, the environmental laws can alter things.