Violin Forum/Message Board

Canuck · Member Joined: 15 Oct 2012 Posts: 29

I'm not asking anyone to divulge a deeply held trade secret. But I have been wondering how one would go about re-finishing the top of a violin considering the presence of the "f" holes, and the danger of messing up the violin, inside? In particular, the label!

actonern · Super Member Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 444

With all the mandatory cautions about affecting value by refinishing, commiting sabotage against the integrity of the maker's design, insulting the Gods, etc...

I've found that your question is very dependent on the varnish itself. If the varnish disolves easily with alcohol, its a small job to keep wiping an alcohol soaked rag (not dripping!) and wiping the varnish off. Have you been able to determine what solvent (if any) the varnish is vulnerable to?

E

Canuck · Member Joined: 15 Oct 2012 Posts: 29

I'm not asking this as a restorer. My one violin has been refinished, and there is no trace of evidence inside that the work was done. Having no clue how varnish is applied, I have wondered how the work might have been done. One thing I have found with the finish on this violin is that the finish is delicate enough to be marked by a finger nail! Is that normal for varnish?

ctviolin · Last edited by ctviolin on Tue Oct 23, 2012 9:09 pm; edited 3 times in total

ctviolin · Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 8:45 pm Post subject:

Ok, So, I've got a Grande Boca - that's always on 'on' - I won't deny it...

ct
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Canuck · Member Joined: 15 Oct 2012 Posts: 29

My interest was not so much as how a top is re-finished, but how to avoid the problem of the new finish migrating into the violin during the process. Thank you for your very detailed answer. I was not asking for trade secrets relative to the re-finishing as much as I wondered about the "f" holes and what to do about them during the process. Your answer was very thorough. 1/ use extreme care. 2/ apply masking tape to the "f" holes from the inside (doubtless a tricky process), or 3/ apply tape over the interior label. Forgive me for asking the question in such a way that it appeared that I was after answers to a question much deeper than that.

ctviolin · Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 9:11 pm Post subject:

Canuck · Member Joined: 15 Oct 2012 Posts: 29

ctviolin · Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:08 am Post subject:

kubasa · Member Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Posts: 212

When I work around the f-holes, I approach it a couple of ways. At the top and the bottom holes, I brush towards the holes and then lift my brush when I get about half way across the holes. For me, I've found that if I pull the brush over the entire hole without lifting the brush, the trailing edge grabs extra varnish off the brush which can make a globby mess insde the hole if I have too much varnish on the brush (speaking from experience.....). As for the length of the f hole (in between the holes), I run the brush up to the edge on either side of the f. After the top is all varnished I go back with a fine brush and either add varnish or smooth out the varnish along the inside edges. This is just what works for me using oil varnish. Hopefully this makes sense!

Are the upper and lower holes on the f called lobes? Do they have names? Maybe not...

Canuck · Member Joined: 15 Oct 2012 Posts: 29

Kubasa,

Thanks for your input. I have no intention over ever attempting the sorts of work that you folks do. But I had sort of wondered whether the "f" holes might be plugged with putty. But I suspect that extreme care is the way to do it right. One might be inclined to over-do the varnish near the "f" holes resulting in a mess, if putty were used.