Varnish Making for Vintage Violins

Modern commercial varnish is unsuitable for the violin.  The built in qualities of hardness and toughness, along with the use of large amounts of catalytic agents, is anything but desirable for the purpose that we want.  Many fine varnishes were produced by forefathers, as evidenced by examples that have persisted for hundreds of years.  The Cremona varnish used by the Master Makers is unmatched by any modern finish. 

Ther are two basic kinds of varnish, spirit and oil.  The spirit varnishes of commerce are compounded of one or more gum resins dissolved in a highly volatile solvent.  Make sure to check out many of these great gum resins in my Old Wood Violin Store today.  Often a non-volatile plasticizer is included to prevent the varnish from becoming too brittle.  Most lacquers and common shellac are spirit varnishes.  Special spirti varnish is used for finishing violins and for retouching.  Spirit varnish does dry fast and it has a momentary brilliance that appeals to some .  It  is usually not associated with the best results for the most diedicated violin makers. 

Oil varnish consists of a dispersion of certain gum resins in a drying oil which is thinned with a diluent having much less colatility thatn the solvents in lacquer.  It dries much more slowly and in two stages.  First it dries to a tacky stage by the evaporation of the thinner.  The second stage the oily vehicle slowly oxidizes into a solid state.  The plasticity of the film is in the oil itself.  It is considfered by many to be the most desirable feature for violin making. 

There is much information available if you wish to pursue the subject more on making your own violin varnish.  Once you have gained enough knowledge on making your own varnish, check back with my store to buy your raw ingredients.  I do not sell the varnish since it is considered too dangerous to ship through the post office.  I'm sorry that I have not made the varnish myself, but I do have a reference book I can look up information for you.