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Reviving an old violin from to much paint an finish it.

 
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Marcello
Junior Member


Joined: 06 Sep 2016
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 12:50 pm    Post subject: Reviving an old violin from to much paint an finish it. Reply with quote

Hello, I'am new here.. See my introduction.

I'am reviving an old violin from the grave... someone put one a very think Blank lacquer for some reason and varnished the thing to death.. Now I scraped all the paint of it and it is totally paintless at the moment.. nice to try intonating the beast now..
But my question is: What kind of precoat has to be used in order to use seedlac on spirit base?

Hope You guys can help.
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DonLeister
Moderator


Joined: 29 Mar 2007
Posts: 383
Location: Richmond, VA

PostPosted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 10:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Marcello,

That is a deep subject and I do not have time to walk you through the intricacies of grounds, sealers and varnishes and the possible techniques.

I also think a car mechanic will not have the same sensibilities that a serious violin maker has. There is a learning curve involved and that can takes years of trial and error.

Can I ask, what have you been studying and researching regarding your endeavor?

There is a lot of good information in this forum, you could search it and get some excellent advice.
Take that and then experiment and learn from that. Most of the makers here have had to re-varnish violins that have not turned out well on the first try, so you are not alone.

Best of luck to you.
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Dave Chandler
Super Member


Joined: 31 Oct 2007
Posts: 691
Location: Mt Mitchell in North Carolina

PostPosted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 10:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Keep it simple since this may be a one-time experience, you can spend hundreds of $ for exotic grounds and sealers.

First -- I'm a novice,working on number 25, but some of my recent ventures into the exotic grounds have not resulted in such improvement over my earlier attempts using the following procedure, that I can say it has been completely justified.

I coat with thinned down pectin from the grocery store first. Then I often use a very thinned down amber shellac to seal it up, and it looks pretty good then. Maybe several coats till it starts to get a shine. I'm talking about Bullseye from the hardware store, thinned down with 91% isopropyl from the pharmacy (don't use the 70% it has too much water in it), about 5 parts alcohol to 1 part shellac.

Then a very light wet or dry sanding using 1000 or 2000 grit wet/dry from the auto parts store and olive oil from my wife's pantry if you feel the need for a flat grain/free finish. Buff with paper towel. If you sanded into raw wood, reseal with the thin shellac.

Then a coat or two clear varnish, another light wet/sand and buff (if you're looking for that smooth look especially).

Color coats to taste,

Clear coat in case you need to knock off bumps and hairs, then polish out with pumice. the clear will keep you from polishing through into the color.'

There are hundreds, thousands of answers to your question, but this is simple and straight forward procedure without huge investment. Everything but the pumice can be found locally. You can instead of pumice use automotive rubbing compound to knock off some of the high gloss, or bring back the gloss if you did the wet sand thing.

We may get a strong blowback from the pro's and purists here (for instance the taboo against sand paper), but I don't think anything here will hurt your fiddle. Old fiddles often are highly polished because they've been in and out fo the case, wiped a million times, polished with all kinds or stuff, tilll they're beautifully smooth. New makers, prefer the grain to remain a bit raised, and not sanded smooth. This is a matter of taste, and any result that makes you happy is what you want to stive for.

Have fun.
_________________
Dave in the Blue Ridge
Southern Violin Association

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to the next with no loss of enthusiasm" Winston Churchill

"I took the road less travelled, and now I don't know where I am." Marco Polo
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