Something Odd

[Richard4u]

So, something odd happened when I was prepping my newest violin to be varnished.  I started with the ground coat which I used washed linseed oil for.  That was two coats rubbed very thin with a new tee-shirt from Target.  Then, I decided on a whim to put the next coat which was teak oil.  After it had dried in the light box, I put Old Wood's golden yellow refractive ground coat on the violin.  But it didn't stay yellow.  It turned into a cinnamon/light brown color.  Has anyone else had something like this happen?

 

Rich

[FiddleDoug]

I'm far from an expert, but I always understood that the ground coat goes on first. I could be wrong about that as a generalization. I guess that that doesn't address the color change.

[arglebargle]

Sounds like a much better ground color than golden yellow. 

 

[Mark Norfleet]

You probably should have used an old T-shirt which had been washed several times.  Try again.

[nathan slobodkin]

Had you used the golden ground stuff before? If not Golden Yellow can mean different things and as Argle said cinnamon brown is a good start for a nice finish.

[DarylG]

Depending on the brand, "teak oil" could be any number of different things.

[JacksonMaberry]

First, I want to agree that the cinnamon is a better base color to varnish on. 

Second, if you've read the directions for the OldWood product (I haven't) and then didn't follow them, then you're off into uncharted territory and I wish you luck. It does seem rather odd to me to oil, then oil again with a different one, then do any kind of ground. It's a bit like wearing a belt and braces at the same time. 

With a couple of exceptions, the great violin makers of old had a very difficult time keeping the rent paid, and probably finished as simply and quickly as possible. With that in mind, there are a lot of historically viable methods of grounding that can be done in one go. 

Edit: I've now read the OldWood instructions, and it's clear they've designed the stuff to be applied directly to the wood with a view to penetrating it a bit. So it can't quite do it's job as intended if you've already sealed with oil.

[Michael Szyper]

It also is not the greatest idea to go lean over fat.

[JacksonMaberry]

30 minutes ago, Michael Szyper said:

It also is not the greatest idea to go lean over fat.

I agree in general, but the rule totally breaks down when the fat is in the wood. I have tested this extensively. If the fat is even slightly film building then the rule applies. 

[Nick Allen]

I hope your oils were hear bodied or you had quite a bit of manganese or lead in them. Otherwise, you just perma-sogged your plates. I would suggest rubbing in some metal driers and sunning the bastard for several weeks to a few months to cure that finish. We generally put the leanest elements on the wood before anything else to prevent strange cracking or even shifting of the layers. 

I had luck with heat bodied linseed and a ton of manganese in the wood. But only a little bit burnished in with a linen cloth. Heat building kind of action. So most of it was buffed off. Then UV cabinet for a LONG time. 

[JacksonMaberry]

7 minutes ago, Nick Allen said:

I hope your oils were hear bodied or you had quite a bit of manganese or lead in them. Otherwise, you just perma-sogged your plates. I would suggest rubbing in some metal driers and sunning the bastard for several weeks to a few months to cure that finish. We generally put the leanest elements on the wood before anything else to prevent strange cracking or even shifting of the layers. 

I had luck with heat bodied linseed and a ton of manganese in the wood. But only a little bit burnished in with a linen cloth. Heat building kind of action. So most of it was buffed off. Then UV cabinet for a LONG time. 

Nick,

Manganese helps substantially with drying when used in a much smaller percentage than most metal driers, around 0.2% as Mn by mass. beyond that, it's doesn't actually work any better or faster. Just a heads up, because this toxic af and you don't want any more than you need.

[Nick Allen]

14 hours ago, JacksonMaberry said:

Nick,

Manganese helps substantially with drying when used in a much smaller percentage than most metal driers, around 0.2% as Mn by mass. beyond that, it's doesn't actually work any better or faster. Just a heads up, because this toxic af and you don't want any more than you need.

Yeah but I'll die faster so let's GOOOOOO!!!

[Nick Allen]

But I didn't know that. I took the human nature route and figured more was more. Good to know. Thanks!

[JacksonMaberry]

49 minutes ago, Nick Allen said:

Yeah but I'll die faster so let's GOOOOOO!!!

I mean, I feel this for sure man.