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<DIV><FONT size=3>I agree with both these responses. I either grind the excess
off or slice it off with a chisel. I've never painted them with anything. A few
of these pianos I have serviced for five or more years after trimming the key
leads and have not found them to grow back. No doubt that they may over time,
but most pianos with this problem are well past their prime anyway and will
never see rebuilding, so it seems to me that trimming/grinding is a very
cost-effective solution when you can't talk the owner into sending the piano off
to that great concert hall in the sky. And yeah, don't breathe the dust -
chiseling is probably the better option.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>If the piano is worth the extra expense, then of course,
replace leads. Or maybe we need to improve Front Weights???????, etc.,
etc.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>> That is lead oxide, a common phenomenon particularly in coastal
environments. <BR>> <BR>> You can absolutely smooth it down, BUT
observe great care as you don't want to be spreading lead powder about or
breathing it. Wear a mask and gloves, and be sure you
contain the powder you sand off. You don't need to wire brush it
off, just sand it off.<BR>> <BR>> You could certainly try hitting it up
with a dab of lacquer.<BR>> <BR>> Anne<BR></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><FONT
id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2><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>
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<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 PTSIZE="10" FAMILY="SANSSERIF">Willem
(Wim) Blees, RPT</FONT></DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>