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Bruised varnish

 
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Mat Roop
Senior Member


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

PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 11:53 pm    Post subject: Bruised varnish Reply with quote

A condition that I see somewhat regularly is what I think is a varnish bruise.
It appears that the varnish has been bumped by rough handling and the varnish appears to be crushed or shattered but the surface is not broken. It appears as a white spot, or a white line if a dull item like a bow button is dragged over the varnish with some pressure. Scratches that are open at the surface take on touch up varnish and the white abrasion almost disappears, but in this case, the surface appears intact and consequently any applied varnish will not penetrate, so the white spot remains. Seems to be more of an issue with spirit finishes.
Any suggestions? Is there a quick solution to this? I'm thinking I need to make a pin hole in the varnish surface and then get some thin varnish to run in, but not sure if that will work, and for sure hate to cause more damage soooo.... looking for ideas.
Thanks, Mat
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Michael Darnton
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Joined: 23 Mar 2007
Posts: 1281
Location: Chicago

PostPosted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 9:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sometimes you can put a drop of alcohol on it and that will soak through and solve the problem, but it won't raise a dent. I have some alcohol retarder and have always meant to try that, since it evaporates more slowly, but haven't done so yet.
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Mat Roop
Senior Member


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

PostPosted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 9:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Michael... not worried about the dents as they are so shallow that you can barely feel it let alone see it... but it is the white that is glaring and so obvious. ... time to experiment.
btw... what is the retarder you are planning to try?
Thanks, Mat
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DonLeister
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Joined: 29 Mar 2007
Posts: 383
Location: Richmond, VA

PostPosted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 3:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had this old cheap violin that was maybe like that, it had a hard bullet proof varnish that scratched and chipped all over. I put either some 'preservation polish' from stew-mac on it or it was 'oz'. It took a while for it to get into the scratches but it cleared up the varnish pretty well.
If you do try the oz be sure to wipe it off well, it seems to leave an oil of some kind on the varnish and you don't want that.

Edit; Now that I think about it I'm pretty sure it was the preservation polish, I left it on overnight and wiped it off the next day. I'm not sure if it will work on the varnish on yours though. Good luck with it and report back on what you do please.
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