Spirit or oil varnish for a double bass?

[Okawbow]

I hope to be finishing a double bass this year, and am thinking of using a spirit varnish. Possibly  varnish made with button shellac, sandarac, and propolis. 
 

What are the drawbacks and advantages of using spirit varnish on a large instrument? I have only used oil varnish in the past.

 

Thanks

[Wood Butcher]

Spirit could be very hard to apply evenly over such large areas with a brush.

Spirit could be chippy, which might matter when bass is left on the floor, hit against doorways, car tailgate shut on it etc.

[Joey Naeger]

Basses have a lot of surface area to suck up dust, debris, and accidental apron grazing. Having a dedicated spot in the shop where you can leave the bass while varnishing will make everything go much smoother. Consider whether your oil varnish requires UV and have a game plan for delivering it. Trying to move a bass covered in wet oil varnish is possible but dicey. Spirit is more forgiving in terms of handling the bass and dealing with dust, but it doesn't give you that beautiful flowed out texture. If you aren't set up to varnish basses conveniently, you'll probably have fewer headaches with spirit.

[Okawbow]

43 minutes ago, Joey Naeger said:

Basses have a lot of surface area to suck up dust, debris, and accidental apron grazing. Having a dedicated spot in the shop where you can leave the bass while varnishing will make everything go much smoother. Consider whether your oil varnish requires UV and have a game plan for delivering it. Trying to move a bass covered in wet oil varnish is possible but dicey. Spirit is more forgiving in terms of handling the bass and dealing with dust, but it doesn't give you that beautiful flowed out texture. If you aren't set up to varnish basses conveniently, you'll probably have fewer headaches with spirit.

I have a separate shop building for finishing, so I don’t need to move the bass around. 
 

Does anyone spray spirit varnish? How would you keep it from “flashing off” too soon?

[Michael_Molnar]

Consider using a spray gun for spirit varnish on a large instrument.

[Okawbow]

48 minutes ago, Michael_Molnar said:

Consider using a spray gun for spirit varnish on a large instrument.

Thanks Michael. 
I am leaning in that direction. What would be the best type alcohol for spraying?

 

Speaking of stargazing....I dug out my Celestron 80mm tabletop telescope a couple nights ago, and got a good view of Jupiter’s color bands and 4 moons, as well as Saturn’s rings. It really helps to get a little edjucation on how to use the telescope.

 

[Joey Naeger]

For spraying shellac, denatured or everclear work fine. One note with shellac, the varnish will dry enough to lightly handle, but it may take some time to fully dry out. I do not recommend retardants like butanol for this reason. An HVLP gun is a great way to apply spirit with a couple caveats.

• The sprayed varnish does not flow out at all. The texture of the wood, if anything, will be amplified. This is neither good or bad, but  you need to be aware and have a plan for texture.
• Brushing on your final coats will help mitigate some of the spray texture
• The color may come out too even to leave straight.

The combination of excessive texture and too straight color lend themselves well to antiquing. In the process of inducing wear, you flatten the varnish out and create unevenness in color. Paradoxically, if you're doing a straight varnish, the spray gun may not yield a look you're happy with.

[Michael_Molnar]

15 hours ago, Okawbow said:

Thanks Michael. 
I am leaning in that direction. What would be the best type alcohol for spraying?

 

Speaking of stargazing....I dug out my Celestron 80mm tabletop telescope a couple nights ago, and got a good view of Jupiter’s color bands and 4 moons, as well as Saturn’s rings. It really helps to get a little edjucation on how to use the telescope.

 

Ask Burgess. He knows lots about spray guns. I experimented with them eons ago. You will need good ventilation to carry away the unused spray before it settles on everything in the room. 

I still drag out my TeleVue refractor for quick views. It’s a lot f fun.

[Wood Butcher]

[Okawbow]

3 hours ago, Michael_Molnar said:

Ask Burgess. He knows lots about spray guns. I experimented with them eons ago. You will need good ventilation to carry away the unused spray before it settles on everything in the room. 

I still drag out my TeleVue refractor for quick views. It’s a lot f fun.

I have sprayed thousands of archery bows with  two part epoxy finish. I use an HVLP spray gun. Thought about even trying it on an instrument, as the formula I use is very flexible, but tough. That might be viewed as heresy, however.

[Michael_Molnar]

3 hours ago, Wood Butcher said:

My favorite planet.