Never tried it but a couple of cabinet makers and a carpenter all told me
the same thing.

"Robatoy" wrote in message
ups.com...
One woodworking shop near here uses a 4 ft long 1-1/2" plastic drain
pipe capped on one end. They then slide in a moulding, or strips and
then they fill it with Downey fabric softener. After a couple of days
of soaking, you can practically tie knots in the strips. Supposedly,
the dipalmitoylethyl hydroxyethylmonium methosulfate does the trick by
lubricating the fibers so they won't tear when being bent. I have this
from 2 sources, but I have not tried it myself.
After it is bent and attached in place (fire-place mantles), it is
rinsed with a wet sponge and then, supposedly takes regular stains and
finishes.

If you're waiting for a punch-line or some sort of pun...sorry.