<HTML>In a message dated 12/3/01 11:38:08 AM Central Standard Time, jbaird@fgi.net writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Using the acetone/keytop solution (in this case to bring up the tone of the whole piano), he brushes a small amount on the crown, then slides the action back in and immediately pounds it in while shifting into both positions. He mutes the strings with his finger while pounding--maybe just to spare his ears, I don't know. The result is a very even and slightly brighter tone. In any case, there was no waiting before playing. John Baird Millikin University Decatur, Illinois </BLOCKQUOTE> John It would seem to me that the process of pounding is creating a brighter tone more that the lacquer. If you pound right away, I don't think the lacquer will have a chance to soak into fibers of the hammers. I also think by pounding the string hard right away, it will force the lacquer right back out of the hammer, and onto the strings. It would be like putting a brush in the lacquer and then right away hitting the side of the handle again the table. The lacquer would come right off the brush. Wim </HTML>