Violin Forum/Message Board

[actonern]

For years I made black and white prints in the darkroom, with fibre based paper and an enlarger. There is a phenomenon called "dry down" in that process that involves prints when wet in the wash tray looking "brighter" than they do when they are dry. Highlights, especially, that look just right would dry to a darker shade of grey when dry. So printers learned to expose a little less than looked right when the print was wet (sometimes on the basis of percentage increments less) to ensure that the dry print corresponded to what they had envisioned.

Which is a long winded way to get to the business of varnish. I recall recently reading somewhere that Michael Darnton prefers to polish out his varnish early, when it is dry but still "full" because when it shrinks down over time it is harder to do as well. This got me thinking about the "dry down" effect because I believe my instruments look darker after about a year than they did when first varnished. Inasmuch as the "dry down" in silver halide photography was the result of the particles in the emulsion becoming physically closer as the emulsion shrank when drying, could the same effect not also occur when pigment particles are brough closer together as the varnish film shrinks?

Any thoughts?

E

[Mat Roop]

Can't give the science, but all wood develops a patina over time, which is darker than the original... a natural aging process like wrinkles!
... my one cent worth!... Cheers, Mat