ViolinLove20

The varnish always look extremely impressive, very, very nice job. Your violins inspire me to possibly start making, and I hope you continue this great work for many more years.

I think the color development of the varnish looks great. I hope you're proud of your work, I would be. Also, I greatly appreciate how you take such care and detail in documenting your process.

Hello all, Life got busy and things got in the way of making progress on violin varnishing. Finally, today I was able to test out a new varnishing method and am pleased with it! The pictures below show: A test strip with half tea stain and then half dye stain (with a tiny section of white wood in between for reference). The next pictures were taking later that day after the ground had been put on and the first oil color coat was drying.

May I ask from which company or store in China are these violins from? The back and front look very nice for varnishing practice, and that's what I like to experiment on. Also, your varnishing job looks exquisite so far, congratulations.

Thank everyone for your input. I love how threads will flow and topics will meld as more and more posts pop up.

Renee, That's perfect! I think I'll purchase those. Steve, Labels. I will definitely do that. Lord knows I'd forget what I had done to the test strip in about 30 minutes.

Actonern, I definitely agree that there will be unknowns even if something appears fine on a test strip. Hopefully, with test strips I can use them to weed out good and bad ideas, and then go a step further and possibly apply the nice ideas to an actual violin. Marty, Interesting idea, and it sounds pretty much like what I need. Thanks.

Hello, This question is slightly painful to ask, but where could/would/should I purchase wood for varnishing test strips? Since I don't make instruments, I don't have random wood pieces laying around. Would I be fine testing on kiln-dried wood bought from a local lumber store? Should I purchase some actual tonewood and turn it into test strip pieces? Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm afraid I've gotten infected with the 'violin varnishing disease' ...and now I really need a place to test out some certain methods, recipes and ideas. Thanks.

Hello, I am hoping to hear some opinions about the difficulty level of the 'Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia' (violin and cello duet). Thanks.

Here is a photo of the unfinished violin I purchased, now fully color coated:

Hello all, I have finally conquered applying colored varnish evenly to a violin -phew-. For a first attempt with the "right" varnishing materials, I feel really happy with the results I achieved. After the previous catastrophe, I stripped the entire violin (using citristrip) and then redid the whole varnishing process. I did sealing/ground shellac coats, one or two practically clear oil coats, and 2 or 3 colored coats. My biggest mistake is getting dust and the occasional hair caught in the varnish, then being too squeamish to try and dig them out. Any ways to keep the nasties off a drying violin? Anyways, thank you maestronet-ers for providing tons and tons of pages of knowledge for me to read and learn from. I doubt I could've started this journey without you. My next steps are to wait a few days then do a final rubdown, maybe polish with a polish I purchased, set-up (which will be a whole new experience for me), then play it record some sound clips so (if you're interested) you can hear the final product. Thanks! Here are some photos of the violin using no camera flash: Here is a photo using camera flash (like I did in the photos posted earlier in the thread): The real life color is somewhere between the two. I couldn't quite get the pictured color right during the photoshoot.

Lars, That is a very stunning violin. I'd be over the moon with joy if I could accomplish results like that.

Thank you everyone for the answers (and humor ). I think better ventilation is the key for my space, and I will work on ways to do that.

Update on varnishing progress: I received a new order from IV a day or two ago, and everything was in order. Now the fun could begin. The first two coats of IVC varnish went on extremely well. I combined parts: 1/3 tbsp mineral spirits, 1/2 tbsp oil varnish, and 3 or 4 drops of color. BUT, the coats looked pretty much like clear coats so next I wanted to add more color. I did the same ratios 1/3 ms to 1/2 varnish, but the 3 or 4 red drops resulted in a pink color that was undesirable so I added red and brown drops until I liked the color. By then it was around 20 drops of color. I knew something was off the minute I put the varnish on the violin. It was dragging a little more than usual, so I tried to wipe it off but it wouldn't come off completely. I figured I'd at least get it as uniform as possible so I then proceeded to put the "getting sticker by the second" varnish on the violin. I looks pretty darn terrible. The back looks mildly acceptable since I did it first, but the ribs and sides look like murder. Sigh. I bet my problem was too much color extract in a small amount of varnish. But hey, it's better to learn now then on a completely handmade violin. I will strip it and start over tomorrow. I'd appreciate any thoughts or advice. Thanks!

Hello all, After being told my varnishing area smells very strongly, I wanted to do some research to make sure the smells/fumes weren't health hazardous. I've attempted searching, but have come up relatively unsatisfied. So, when varnishing, is there a health risk? Any dangerous solvents or varnishes? Or am I overreacting? I just want to be sure that myself (and others) will remain as healthy as can be. Thanks!