<!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 6.00.2800.1141" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV>I've never had this happen either, but I can see if one played the instrument before the hammers were very dry it could happen.  I use a hair dryer to dry the hammers after I've used the softener.  Actually, since I've stopped using hammers that need to be lacquered, I haven't had to use the softener either.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>dave<BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********<BR><BR>On 4/27/2003 at 9:27 AM Mike Spalding wrote:</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid"> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dave, and list,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I tried the Downy method only once, on my own piano.  It certainly de-brightened the tone the way I wanted it to, but shortly afterwards I noticed the string grooves in the bass section had turned green.  Other techs in my chapter said this never happened to them, so maybe it was just concidence.  Nevertheless, I would recommend caution with this method.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>just my 2 cents</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Mike Spalding RPT</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=dm.porritt@verizon.net href="mailto:dm.porritt@verizon.net">David M. Porritt</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, April 27, 2003 9:10 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: lacquer softener</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>Fabric softener (1 part) and isopropyl alcohol (7 parts) works very well.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>dave<BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********<BR><BR>On 4/25/2003 at 9:06 PM Dave Nereson wrote:</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid"> <DIV>What can one use to soften hammers that were lacquered at the factory?  At first I thought lacquer thinner, but wouldn't that just evaporate and leave them still hard?  Tried a voicing needle and broke three of them.  The voicing tool just will not go in.  Tempted to go to the vise-grips extreme.  Surely the wonderful world of chemistry offers some liquid I can drizzle on them.  ??  --David Nereson, RPT</DIV><FONT size=2 Arial></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT><PRE>_____________________________ David M. Porritt dporritt@mail.smu.edu Meadows School of the Arts Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX 75275 _____________________________</PRE></BLOCKQUOTE><FONT size=2 Arial></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BODY></HTML> <PRE> _____________________________ David M. Porritt dporritt@mail.smu.edu Meadows School of the Arts Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX 75275 _____________________________</PRE>