<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.3157" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV> <DIV>In a message dated 9/23/07 12:25:55 P.M. Hawaiian Standard Time, thetuner@ivories52.com writes:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=234021222-23092007>I noticed on the last tuning of this piano that all the key leads are starting to get covered over with that white fluffy powder that indicates decomposition. My first thought was that the owners of this inexpensive piano would never go for key lead replacement. Besides, it's probably too soon in the process to think in that direction. My next thought was </SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=234021222-23092007>to take all the keys out and soft-wire brush the powder off the ends of the leads and then seal them off with some clear spray paint of some kind. Lacquer, Rust-O-Leum, AquaNet, whatever. Anything to hopefully stall the process. And then I realized that the wiser thing to do would be to bring the subject up here first. So, any thoughts? Any suggestions?</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=234021222-23092007></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=234021222-23092007>-- Geoff Sykes</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=234021222-23092007>-- Los Angeles</SPAN></FONT></DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV>We have a lot of this here in Hawaii. I've been instructed to use a chisel to cut off the lead that is outside the width of the key, and then, as you alluded to, instead of lacquer, seal it with spray shellac. You want to also look at the other side of the key. Sometimes the lead will push the wood out, but not all the way through. So with your chisel, remove excess wood. It is advisable to wear a mask to avoid breathing in any lead particles. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT<BR>Piano Tuner/Technician<BR>Honolulu, Hawaii<BR>Author, "The Business of Piano Tuning".<BR>available from Potter Press.<BR>www.pianotuning.com</FONT></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">See what's new at <A title="http://www.aol.com?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001170" href="http://www.aol.com?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001170" target="_blank">AOL.com</A> and <A title="http://www.aol.com/mksplash.adp?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001169" href="http://www.aol.com/mksplash.adp?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001169" target="_blank">Make AOL Your Homepage</A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>