<!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 6.00.2800.1479" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>James Grebe said:"<FONT face="Times = New Roman" size=3>Tung oil does that"</FONT></FONT></DIV><FONT face=Arial = size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> <DIV><BR>James,</DIV> <DIV>From my experience, I've found that Tung Oil does NOT do that! = However, there are two types of  "Tung Oil" finish that is available. One is = the natural Tung Oil w/o any additives. The other has additives to make it = set up harder. Under some conditions, the Pure Tung Oil will slightly soften, = but it won't get "gummy" as described.</DIV> <DIV>Now, let's blame the real culprit. My suspicion is that someone = used Linseed Oil! All of the symptoms described point in that direction. = </DIV> <DIV>I use Tung Oil on the top of my Grand Bench. It has never exhibited = these symptoms!! EVER! In the past, (before extensive work/study in Piano Tech = and Finishing), I used Linseed Oil as a finish. Each time it was a disaster! = The darned stuff never set up! It was pretty, but it was also a mess!</DIV> <DIV>To get rid of the darned stuff, I recommend heavily swabbing the = sharps with Acetone and/or commercial grade lacquer thinner. (Yes, there is a difference in grades of Lacquer Thinner.) Use a fine 3M pad to smooth = and swab.</DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Best = Regards,</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Joe Garrett, R.P.T.<BR>Captain, Tool Police<BR>Squares R I</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>