<!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 6.00.2900.2523" 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=rol= e_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV>List,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>This has been quite an active question.  I am gone most of the day= and come back and find dozens of comments.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I will try to fill in the blanks and answer the questions posed.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>On the question of stability, I will not even try to explain that which= I do not understand. However, when the new Fazioli dealer was opened in Chicag= o I had an opportunity to have some conversations with Mr. Fazioli.  One particular area of extensive attempted conversation (we were battling accent= , language and noise) was the finishing of his soundboards.  I was able t= o gather in a general sense that he uses a finishing material which significan= tly reduces the movement of moisture in his soundboards.  In conversations = I have had with David Graham, who maintains these gems, he has told me of thei= r remarkable stability.  Certainly we can't prevent moisture movement in = wood (I doubt that would such a good idea anyway), but we can slow the rate and t= hus flatten out some of the swings the soundboard experiences.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>All of the soundboards I have applied epoxy to have had crown, flat boa= rds get replaced.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I use System Three Epoxy.  The surface condition is usually pretty= rough after drying and I sand it and coat it with lacquer and rub it out to = a satin (usually) finish.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I have thought about coating the underside, but have never under taken = this task.  Maybe next time I will see if I can notice any appreciable difference (besides the extra time).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I have never warmed the epoxy to improve flow, but I think I will try t= hat the next time.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I have been debating with myself over the wisdom of using epoxy as a se= aler on a new soundboard.  Any thoughts on this?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I hope that helps some.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Andrew Remillard</DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>