<HTML>Clyde, I have a couple of tools I use for bass damper crust and/or scum of diff= erent sorts.  I use a triangular shaped file(don't know the proper name= ) that has faces 3/8 inch wide or so.  They usually fit right into the = string groove.   For trichords, my favorite tool is a nail file(which is also useful for = slipping in between action parts to take off sloppily applied glue chunks). =  The one I use has a broken tip, giving it a flat end. Tenderly is the key word here.  It doesn't take alot of elbow greas= e to get crust off of dampers.   Dave Stahl In a message dated 11/6/03 3:34:15 AM Pacific Standard Time, cedel@super= net.com writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-= LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Friends, While tuning a little 1959 Janssen console today I found that when I depressed the sustain pedal I would get all these little ghostly tones as the dampers came off the strings.  A few of them showed obvious = signs of some type of contamination, brownish stuff. On a whim I depressed the pedal, chose on of the worst offenders and just lightly caressed the top edge with my finger.  Then I depresse= d the pedal again and the ghost tone was gone!  It took about a minute to= do all the flat dampers, and they were as quiet as new!  So how long d= o you think this will last?  Not long, I think, but can anyone explain wh= at actually happened here?  No rubbing, sanding, or anything beyond th= e slight touch. But the bass dampers still sing.  I couldn't do anything with them today.  Replacing them would be best, I know. </BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>