G'day all - The following comes from the Pipe Organ List (Robbie, is it
OK to repost it here?) and would be of interest to many of our members.
Does anyone here have any experiences with it?  How does it compare with
Bilon -- is it the same?

 ---begin forwarded message---

 Date:         Tue, 7 Jan 1997 22:18:26 -0500
 Reply-To:     PipeOrgn@aol.com
 Sender:       Pipe Organs and Related Topics <PIPORG-L@CNSIBM.ALBANY.EDU>
 From:         Al Sefl <PipeOrgn@aol.com>
 Subject:      Thanks List - Polylon mystery material ID'd

Thanks to all on the list who have sent in the possible identifications
of the "wonder" pneumatic cloth I encountered.  The material seems to
have been polyurethane coated nylon mesh fabric known as "Polylon".  The
reason that this material was so resistant to the water in the chest is
that one of its uses is for umbrellas and raingear.  It was first
developed as an airtight liner for NASA space suits.

Private e-mails to me by Guy Henderson,  Larry Chace, Bob Trousdale,
Jack Hardman, and Chris Feiereisen identified the material.  Chris went
on to give me the source, price, and applications details.  It has been
available from Player Piano Supply and Pipe Organ Industries in the past,
but the current source as Chris listed it is:

    American Piano Supply Co.
    242 South Parkway,  Box 1068
    Clifton, NJ  07014

Price is just $4.95 a running yard of 50" width, item #451354B (comes in
various colors).  If anyone is interested I'll post them more details
provided by Chris off-list.

Isn't it great to have so much information available from so knowledgeable
a list! (rhetorical question so no question mark)

Al Sefl¶
PipeOrgn@aol.com

p.s. The material that I encountered was at least 14 years old and showed
no signs of wear or chemical deterioration so this stuff is not likely to
go the way of the ill-fated Perflex.  Who knows I might actually unplug
my glue pot, put away the leather, and try this "new" idea on a few test
cases.  If it works out, in another 20 years I may switch over.   ;-)

 ---end forwarded message---
 ---begin forwarded message---

 Date:         Wed, 8 Jan 1997 13:46:54 -0500
 Reply-To:     Allen Miller <ztronics@tiac.net>
 Sender:       Pipe Organs and Related Topics <PIPORG-L@CNSIBM.ALBANY.EDU>
 Subject:      Polylon

At 10:18 PM 1/7/97 -0500, Al Sefl wrote:

> p.s. The material that I encountered was at least 14 years old and
> showed no signs of wear or chemical deterioration so this stuff is
> not likely to go the way of the ill-fated Perflex.  Who knows I might
> actually unplug my glue pot, put away the leather, and try this "new"
> idea on a few test cases.  If it works out, in another 20 years I may
> switch over.  ;-)

Don't be so sure.  The coating is polyurethane, of the same sort as was
Perflex-E, simply held together by nylon mesh.

Nelson Barden was the true discoverer of Polylon, and for some time
marketed "Numalon" which was hand-selected from various batches of Polylon,
mainly as I recall, for its lack of pinholes.  As I recall, the common
color for Numalon was gray.

This was all new to organ and mechanical music technology back in 1969,
and I did my Ampico in Polylon.  This is just under 30 years.

Yes, the material is still workable.  However, it has become sticky and
gummy and the corners abraded long ago, showing pinholes.  I can take my
fingernail and scrape the polyurethane coating off the nylon.  I thus
surmise that if I started to peel the material, it would come apart,
leaving the coating nicely stuck to the PVC-E adhesive (or it might have
been Pliobond.)  In any case, either (or any) glue used with Polylon is
difficult to deal with the next time around, meaning that you better
figure on throwing the old pneumatics away and making new ones.

Better hold onto your glue pot, Al.

 ---end forwarded message--

Cheers, Darrell Clarke,

in too-sunny Adelaide, Australia (temp: 39C =102F)