<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2995" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hello all,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A most interesting experience.  I am repairing and refinishing an old damaged sound board.  While scraping off the 90+/- year old varnish it puffed itself into the air in a fine powder.  With age there was absolutely no effort in scraping it off.  Normally I would wear a respirator in such situations but this time I didn't.  After about 20 minutes of scraping and sanding I began to experience what could only be described as a narcotic effect from the stuff.  I have never noticed this before.  Not quite as enjoyable as being drunk but interesting to say the least.  Very light headed and floaty-like with a hint of giddiness involved.  When I became self aware of the situation I cleared away but the effect lasted for a while.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I was wondering if anyone else had this experience?  I had never heard of a narcotic effect from the removal of old finishes but this was pretty powerful stuff.  Don't tell the government or they will try to make old pianos a controlled substance!  I can see it now, old uprights that dealers have been dumping for years are suddenly worth thousands on the streets.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Rob Goodale, RPT</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Las Vegas NV</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>