<HTML>In a message dated 7/2/01 8:07:03 PM Central Daylight Time, tcole@cruzio.com writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">A long while back, I noticed that a tuning pin on a grand that I tune had suddenly lost its torque and apparently had been contaminated with valve or slide oil. I pulled the pin out, swabbed the hole liberally with lacquer thinner and drove in an oversized pin. </BLOCKQUOTE> Tom I am afraid that the oily liquid has penetrated the wood, and there is probably nothing you can do to get it out, much less prevent it from seeping through the grain to the neighboring pins. Unless you are going to continue to put in larger pins, there is nothing else that can be done. (maybe this is a time for those tuning pins sleeves everyone is throwing away). One of these days you're going to have to give the customer the bad news that the piano needs a new pin block, just because of the a few loose pins. Wim</HTML>