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sun tanning violins

 
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Mat Roop
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Joined: 24 Mar 2007
Posts: 911
Location: Wyoming Ontario

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2016 3:38 pm    Post subject: sun tanning violins Reply with quote

Dave's recent post of his violin laying on the deck getting a sun tan got me thinking.... and that can be dangerous.
I have a piece of furniture, exposed to the sun, that sits in my west facing bay window. The wood of the top (mahogany) has bleached considerably when compared to the wood protected by the base of the lamp which is nice and rich in color.
We all want nice rich colors in our violins... so would placing it in the sun not be contrary to that objective? I know that creating patina is desireable, but my understanding is that patina is the result of oxidization thru age.
just thinking and asking.... Mat
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L P Reedy
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Joined: 02 Apr 2009
Posts: 276
Location: Brevard, NC

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2016 4:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mat, most furniture is stained for nice, even and consistent color. That can even include walnut. I suspect what you are seeing is not the wood bleaching but the stain fading. I have the same problem with a cherry wood chair whose back side is exposed to a glass door. Natural cherry varies a lot in color but if uncoated mostly oxidizes to a nice red. Factories don't have time for that. Mahogany probably doesn't vary as much but I'm sure it does some.

Bare wood does usually darken some from UV exposure but not as dramatically as a stain. However, it is easy to do your own test. Put pieces of freshly cut maple and spruce in direct sunlight with parts covered with aluminum foil for a few weeks and see what happens.
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kjb
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Joined: 06 Feb 2013
Posts: 385

PostPosted: Sat Jul 30, 2016 7:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think part of this is that your lamp was partially exposed , not evenly , some people , in tanning booth put the fiddle on a motor to turn it evenly.
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Michael Darnton
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Joined: 23 Mar 2007
Posts: 1281
Location: Chicago

PostPosted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 10:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a UV light box for that purpose. It takes several weeks to do its job, but eventually does darken things. I mix just a couple of drops of linseed oil with a shot of turpentine, paint that on the violin, and that yellows along with the wood, resulting in a pretty nice color.

A friend of mine has the same type of UV box, but mists his violins once a day. The H2O + UV creates nitric acid in the wood. It's only on the surface, and doesn't seem to hurt anything (he's been doing this for 30 years) but if you overdo it tiny black spots form under individual droplets of water.
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DonLeister
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Joined: 29 Mar 2007
Posts: 383
Location: Richmond, VA

PostPosted: Thu Aug 11, 2016 7:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

H.R. - I know what you mean about bleaching effect from the sun, at least on bridges. I used to hang my bridges in the window and over time the sun would bleach them.
The medullary rays that were dark would lighten and make the bridge look plainer so I quit doing that.
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Mat Roop
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Joined: 24 Mar 2007
Posts: 911
Location: Wyoming Ontario

PostPosted: Thu Aug 11, 2016 9:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks all for the responses.... I guess I had it in my mind that sun does have a bleaching effect (organic stains on farm clothes do disappear quite nicely in the sun), and sun will bleach and actually rot natural fabrics like jute and cotton. I have seen exposed wood that appears whiter than original, but I guess the length of exposure time is a factor and perhaps it would be wise not to overthink these issues, but rather have faith in the experience of the masters.
Cheers... Mat
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Michael Darnton
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 12, 2016 5:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don, that's very interesting to me. One of the effects of the look of old Cremonese violins (that I can't get) is light-colored rays that don't make a strong appearance in comparison with the other wood fibers.

Can you estimate how long such bleaching would take?
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DonLeister
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 8:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It seems like 6 months to a year in the window with about a half day of sunlight got them looking lighter.
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