A few days ago I was talking with a friend, and we got on the subject
of the best material for re-covering striker pneumatics.

Another friend who is a registered piano technician lent me his
Schaff piano catalog to decide what I wanted to order, and I found
two choices of material: (1) nylon sheeting coated with polyurethane
(touted as "Very Durable"), and (2) cotton cloth bonded with natural
rubber.

What I am wondering is which is a better material?  The nylon is
supposed to be used with PVC-E glue, but I am not familiar with it.
I know that hot hide glue is the "tried and true" method, but I am
wondering if using nylon and PVC-E is a better alternative that lasts
longer, or at least has the same results.  Is it possible to use hot
hide glue with nylon, or should I just use cotton cloth?

This is my first player, so I do want it to be done with the best
materials with the highest quality.  I politely request that replies
be submitted through the MMD rather than to my personal email.  Thanks
in advance!

Clinton Gray

 [ Clinton, this is not the last piano you will rebuild, it's only the
 [ first, so treat it as your student piece, not as your masterpiece.
 [ My advice is to use whatever pneumatic cloth you can get that is
 [ airtight, and test it yourself before you apply it to 88 pneumatics.
 [ Read about "Quality of Materials & Testing Pneumatic Cloth" at
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/KWIC/C/cloth.html  -- Robbie