<html> Hi Phil,              The problem is probably due to the sugar and milk component of the coffee.  Common H2O will do the job . Make sure every thing is good and dry after, by drying with a hair dryer.  Then use a dab of CLP with a tooth pick to lub the agraffe holes. Wedge paper towel between the plate and the strings, so the water will no wick towards the dampers.  Flush affected area with a syringe and mop with a Q tip and paper towel.  You will have to do this several times. Dropping the tension on the affected strings and cleaning will also help. The drop in tension will help drag and residue out of the agraffe holes. Coffee and Coke seems impervious to most solvents. regards Roger At 08:55 PM 2/15/02 -0500, you wrote: >Dear List, > >A client whose piano I service, spilled a cup of coffee into the action of >the piano.  The action  was cleaned up pretty well, but some of the notes >involved later started to turn into a "thudding" sound.  After ruling out >the hammers as the culprits, I found the problem to be in the agraffes. Some >of the coffee must have stopped up the holes in the agraffes.  Not having >any cleaning materials with me (It's on a cruise ship), I left it for next >time.  Question: Is there a good chemical solvent that will easily disolve >this congestion without doing additional damage?  Is this a common problem >with spills?   It's new to me. > >Phil Ryan >Miami Beach > </html>