Wood-staining

[Ben]

I intend to revarnish my violin. Must the old varnish be stripped to bare wood before apply color staining. What type of varnish remover is recoomend. Thanks in advance.

[Richard]

well firt of all it is seldom advisable to "revarnish" an instrument. Would it make sense to "repaint" after stripping the mona lisa or any other painting just because the colors had faded and crackled? In the rare case that an instrument does need revarnishing forexample: a nice old instrument was stripped of it's original cracked scratched yet beautiful varnish by someone who didn`t know they were causing severe damage and on top of that doing a very poor job-in this case if the violin itself was not damaged as well it would be necessary for an experienced violin maker to try and restore it to it`s original looks to include the years of wear and tear ,scratches etc...as for stain? violins are not stained rather the color is contained in the varnish-staining will normally result in killing the beautiful natural shimmer and curl in the wood. what kind of varnish remover? if it were a spirit based varnish then it`s simple enough to use spirits.otherwise it`s difficult to say, however one must take care that the disolved varnish does not leak into the wood causing a blotched staining effect!all in all it`s best you don`t revarnish but be satisfied with a proper cleaning and polishing-you`ll be surprised at how beautiful all that wear and tear actually is-nowadays people pay several thousand dollars extra for a new violin to be varnished in such a style "antiqued".

as

: I intend to revarnish my violin. Must the old varnish be stripped to bare wood before apply color staining. What type of varnish remover is recoomend. Thanks in advance.

[Colorado John]

like rick said, if it's a decent fiddle don't risk the learning curve. but if you're just wanting to pretty up and old junker treat it like any furnature refurnishing job. Some of the new gels on the market work well, and Acetone will sure do the trick on those lacquer varnishes found on a lot of student instruments.

[mimi]

: Now, Rick, I don't agree with you. I'm not going to

restain my fiddle, it's beyond me; but #1

paintings done by the old masters ARE being revitalized

constantly.

#2 some old fiddles have horrible finish jobs

which are not improved with age, and I can see

why someone would like their violin to have a little

of that sparkle you mention.!

[D Ellison]

Mimi -

I have to agree with Rick. You're correct that old paintings by the masters are being revitalized. On the other hand, they are not being stripped and repainted, simply restored to their original beauty. A couple of hundred years of dirt, grime and exposure to the air can really dull the colors of the pigment. Why should that not be true of varnish on old instruments? I would think that a good and thorough cleaning followed by a carfeul polishing job should be tried before somebody goes off half-cocked and ruins a good fiddle.

D

[Mimi]

:doesn't everyone upon buying an old fiddle clean

it up to the best of their ability?

[Paul]

: :doesn't everyone upon buying an old fiddle clean

: it up to the best of their ability?

Isn't the answer obvious to the most casual observer?

[Richard]

REVITALIZED? YES. BUT NOT STRIPPED DOWN TO THE CANVAS! AND TOTALLY REDONE! YOU MAY CONSIDER FRENCH POLISHING "WHICH IS QUITE COMMON IN AMERICA" BUT MANY PROFESSIONAL SHOPS WILL REFUSE ! TRY A POLISH/CLEANER IF YOU WANT SPARKLE.

: : Now, Rick, I don't agree with you. I'm not going to

: restain my fiddle, it's beyond me; but #1

: paintings done by the old masters ARE being revitalized

: constantly.

: #2 some old fiddles have horrible finish jobs

: which are not improved with age, and I can see

: why someone would like their violin to have a little

: of that sparkle you mention.!

[Richard]

yes,many do,and some wisely with the advice of a proffesional as to which cleaner to use-unfortunately however many often cause irrepairable damage while attempting to clean their violin in which case may be one of the few occasions that require revarnishing to attempt to regain some of it's lost value-but never regaining all of it.

: :doesn't everyone upon buying an old fiddle clean

: it up to the best of their ability?

[Guest]

I disagree with your comment about staining. My william luff violin has been pre-stained before the varnishing and it look absolutely beautiful. Staining, if done right, will bring about awesome results.

Young

: well firt of all it is seldom advisable to "revarnish" an instrument. Would it make sense to "repaint" after stripping the mona lisa or any other painting just because the colors had faded and crackled? In the rare case that an instrument does need revarnishing forexample: a nice old instrument was stripped of it's original cracked scratched yet beautiful varnish by someone who didn`t know they were causing severe damage and on top of that doing a very poor job-in this case if the violin itself was not damaged as well it would be necessary for an experienced violin maker to try and restore it to it`s original looks to include the years of wear and tear ,scratches etc...as for stain? violins are not stained rather the color is contained in the varnish-staining will normally result in killing the beautiful natural shimmer and curl in the wood. what kind of varnish remover? if it were a spirit based varnish then it`s simple enough to use spirits.otherwise it`s difficult to say, however one must take care that the disolved varnish does not leak into the wood causing a blotched staining effect!all in all it`s best you don`t revarnish but be satisfied with a proper cleaning and polishing-you`ll be surprised at how beautiful all that wear and tear actually is-nowadays people pay several thousand dollars extra for a new violin to be varnished in such a style "antiqued".

: as

: : I intend to revarnish my violin. Must the old varnish be stripped to bare wood before apply color staining. What type of varnish remover is recoomend. Thanks in advance.