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Mat Roop Senior Member
Joined: 24 Mar 2007 Posts: 911 Location: Wyoming Ontario
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Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2016 3:38 pm Post subject: sun tanning violins |
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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 Super Member
Joined: 02 Apr 2009 Posts: 276 Location: Brevard, NC
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Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2016 4:52 pm Post subject: |
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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 Super Member
Joined: 06 Feb 2013 Posts: 385
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Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2016 7:07 am Post subject: |
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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 Moderator
Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 1281 Location: Chicago
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 10:05 am Post subject: |
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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. _________________ new blog at my site! http://darntonviolins.com/blog
my work sites: http://darntonviolins.com and http://darntonhersh.com |
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DonLeister Moderator
Joined: 29 Mar 2007 Posts: 383 Location: Richmond, VA
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2016 7:09 pm Post subject: |
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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 Senior Member
Joined: 24 Mar 2007 Posts: 911 Location: Wyoming Ontario
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2016 9:09 pm Post subject: |
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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 Moderator
Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 1281 Location: Chicago
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2016 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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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? _________________ new blog at my site! http://darntonviolins.com/blog
my work sites: http://darntonviolins.com and http://darntonhersh.com |
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DonLeister Moderator
Joined: 29 Mar 2007 Posts: 383 Location: Richmond, VA
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Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 8:12 am Post subject: |
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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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