Violin Forum/Message Board

[Chuck C]

This is my first go at violin varnish. I am using oil varnish and am quite pleased with the color. However I would like it a little darker. I have four pigmented coats on top of two thinned coats of clear so far and am afraid of piling on too much varnish. What could I add to the varnish to darken it without adding any color? I have read about using artist oil to darken but I am concerned about opacity. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[okawbow]

I have added artist's tar to varnish to darken it. However; you might want to look into applying pigments with your fingers to get shading for an antique look.

There are many videos online that deal with varnish.

[L P Reedy]

I'm not sure what you could add to safely darken future coats without knowing what you are using. I also don't know how thick your four coats are. My last varnish job took 24 coats to get close to the color I wanted but they were VERY thin coats.

[Chuck C]

I'm using brown oil varnish from International Violin. I thinned the first two (clear) coats a bit less than 50% with turpentine. The pigmented coats are thinned as well but not as much. At this point, the color is consistent over the instrument and I have used Micromesh 2500 to smooth. I don't really have a feel for judging how thick the finish is so far.

[Mat Roop]

Chuck... For a violin already sealed or varnished... I have a variety of artist oil colors on hand and then depending on the result I want, I mix one or more colors with the varnish to make what I think I want... then test it on the violin in a small inconspicuous spot... like under the chinrest ... If not quite right wipe it off immediately and re work the color.
The oil colors mix well with the varnish... be sure to buy quality colors like Winsor & Newton.
I have on hand these colors which I mix with a good quality commercial oil violin varnishes like amber, brown, golden brown etc. with these I can make almost any match...
Vandyke brown
Burnt sienna
yellow ochre
raw umber light
alizarin crimson
lampblack
permanent rose
burnt umber
purple madder
Good luck... Mat

[Dave Chandler]

I usually save my scraps after cutting out the outline of the belly, maybe a piece or two of rib material too, so I have a bit of both, spruce and maple. I scrape and seal these along with the violin, and then varnish. With a couple extra pieces, you can try a couple different applications and see what the result will look like on the violin.
_________________
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

[John Cadd]

For varnish colours you can safely use paint colours as long as the tube indicates Transparent on the label ,usually with the letter T.
Then if you want the colour to remain and not fade away in a month or less ,sometimes , you need to see the Permanent marker on the label .They often indicate that with stars. Each maker uses different systems to label these properties
T for Transparent will give clear coloured varnish .
O for Opaque will give you paint .
Be very vigilant about those two .
I bought some violin varnish from a specialist maker once and the colour faded inside a week each time I added a layer .

[Chuck C]

Thanks, everybody! I have finished it. It's still lighter than I was trying for, but it came out pretty well for number one. I learned an awful lot on this one and am looking forward to number 2.

[ctviolin]

I'm always curious to see what people do for varnish...

Can we see what it looks like?