joerobson Posted February 24, 2014 Author Report Posted February 24, 2014 A better view of the instrument top texture from the orange varnish thread.
Michael_Molnar Posted February 24, 2014 Report Posted February 24, 2014 oops, now we know your secret ingredient, Old Timer's Horseradish! I use it too - on my ham sandwiches.
joerobson Posted April 8, 2014 Author Report Posted April 8, 2014 I am now "available" on Facebook as "Violin Varnish ltd." for pictures comments questions etc..... Joe
joerobson Posted April 12, 2014 Author Report Posted April 12, 2014 For those of you using the Aged Wood Color Gold. Here is a sample of the before and after effect. The bright side has not been exposed to sunlight. The other is after the expected fade out.
Thomas Cumpston Posted April 12, 2014 Report Posted April 12, 2014 Hey Joe. Is it ok to use the Gold aged wood coloring during any stage of the 4 stage process, and can it be added to the final Balsam ground varnish? Just curious.
joerobson Posted April 12, 2014 Author Report Posted April 12, 2014 Hey Joe. Is it ok to use the Gold aged wood coloring during any stage of the 4 stage process, and can it be added to the final Balsam ground varnish? Just curious. Thomas, You can use the AWC Gold in the #3 and #4 Balsams preparations, but they do not have much impact. The usual way is to apply #1 then #2 without color. Then the Aged Wood Color can be added to a thinned solution of the #2 balsam. This is maximum impact + maximum control. Do not add the Aged Wood Colors to the Balsam Ground varnish...or any other varnish. Joe
joerobson Posted April 25, 2014 Author Report Posted April 25, 2014 More on the Aged Wood Gold. My current project with the AW Gold wet, then after 1 hour in direct sunlight. Joe
Jim Bress Posted April 25, 2014 Report Posted April 25, 2014 Looks nice Joe. I take it the instrument white before AW gold was applied? How much darker does the wood get if you give the wood a sun tan first, then proceed as above?
arglebargle Posted April 25, 2014 Report Posted April 25, 2014 Not trying to hijack Joe's thread, but I just finished grounding a cello using his system. Here are the results. Outside, direct and indirect light.
joerobson Posted April 25, 2014 Author Report Posted April 25, 2014 Looks nice Joe. I take it the instrument white before AW gold was applied? How much darker does the wood get if you give the wood a sun tan first, then proceed as above? Jim, This was a white instrument. Suntanning is always beneficial. Also one can adjust the color with AWC Red brown/Gray-geen/and or Dark Brown. The choices are basically limitless. However only the Gold goes through this light related transformation. Joe
joerobson Posted April 25, 2014 Author Report Posted April 25, 2014 Not trying to hijack Joe's thread, but I just finished grounding a cello using his system. Here are the results. Outside, direct and indirect light. IMG_2958.jpgIMG_2960.jpgIMG_2962.jpg ab, Is this Aged Wood gold + Aged Wood Red/Brown? Joe
Stephen Faulk Posted April 26, 2014 Report Posted April 26, 2014 I did not have the nerve to use the AWC on the cello I made, but I did use the AWC red/brown on a guitar to age it. It worked very well. I made it look like it's 40 to 50 years old or more and very natural color. It warmed the top color and made the back glow. I learned a lot. Next time I'll know what to do on the viola.
arglebargle Posted April 26, 2014 Report Posted April 26, 2014 Joe, It is primarily red/brown, with a bit of gold. (80 to 20 ish) Applied only after the first balsam, and not added to any other step. I am quite pleased with the results, so thanks! The spruce is always a tricky part for me in this process, as it drinks the stuff up so easily. I wonder if maybe adding the color to the top later in the process (after step 3?) would mitigate some of the quick absorption and disperse the color a little more evenly? Anyway, as always I have something I can easily work with as I add varnish and color.
Janito Posted April 26, 2014 Report Posted April 26, 2014 Red-brown AWC is quite 'strong' and can produce too much of an uneven effect on spruce. Can look too much like 'burning in'. Tilting the balance to more Gold leaves a more harmonious colouring. after the green tinge has faded.
Christopher Jacoby Posted April 26, 2014 Report Posted April 26, 2014 I love a little burning! Lets you feel the bear's claws.
Janito Posted April 26, 2014 Report Posted April 26, 2014 I love a little burning! Lets you feel the bear's claws. I prefer the bearclaw to jump out at me unexpectedly as the violin is moved, rather than from 10 feet away.
joerobson Posted April 26, 2014 Author Report Posted April 26, 2014 Red-brown AWC is quite 'strong' and can produce too much of an uneven effect on spruce. Can look too much like 'burning in'. Tilting the balance to more Gold leaves a more harmonious colouring. after the green tinge has faded. Janito, I agree. I think the Aged Wood colors should be added in or after the #2 Balsam which will make absorbtion more even and controlable. Joe
joerobson Posted August 2, 2014 Author Report Posted August 2, 2014 Happy with the texture on this one....
Peter K-G Posted August 5, 2014 Report Posted August 5, 2014 I really like the back, it's so alive! I'm happy with my last one too: but it could have been more "exciting" like yours
joerobson Posted August 5, 2014 Author Report Posted August 5, 2014 Thanks Peter. That 'excitement' is more in the ground than the varnish... on we go, Joe
Peter K-G Posted August 6, 2014 Report Posted August 6, 2014 Joe, Do you polish after varnishing or do you leave it glossy?
Don Noon Posted August 6, 2014 Report Posted August 6, 2014 That 'excitement' is more in the ground than the varnish... Definitely my experience too... the first things on the wood are critical.
joerobson Posted August 7, 2014 Author Report Posted August 7, 2014 Joe, Do you polish after varnishing or do you leave it glossy? Peter, I polish, but I do not use any polishing products. I like the kind of sheen I can get on the varnish...shiny but not glossy. Joe
MikeC Posted August 7, 2014 Report Posted August 7, 2014 I guess this thread would be a good place to ask. Would there be any use for Kaolin in varnish making? maybe as a filler with the ground? Just wondering because there are kaolin mines near me and ocasionaly I see it scattered along the roads
Don Noon Posted August 7, 2014 Report Posted August 7, 2014 Would there be any use for Kaolin in varnish making? maybe as a filler with the ground? I tested Kaolin clay, gypsum, 5 micron silica, and fumed silica. The fumed silica is different... it thickens without adding much weight. The other particulate types add filler without thickening so much, and they all seemed to look quite similar: fairly transparent, but with some milkiness in heavier concentrations or thicker layers. I tend to use the silicas, as the materials tend to be more strictly controlled, and they are (to my eye) more transparent, but not by a lot.
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