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(7 votes) 
I would first try cleaning it well. If the finish is bad then first test to see if it's a spirit varnish or an oil varnish. Take a drop of alcohol on a cotton swab and rub it on a small spot. if the varnish starts to melt away it's a spirit varnish and if not it's an oil varnish. If it's a spirit varnish I would do a french polish on it and blend the old with the new. If it's oil you can try to blend old and new but first sand with 600 to 800 grit. One thing to keep in mind is a spirit varnish can not be put over an oil varnish but an oil varnish can be put over a spirit varnish.
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Thanks for your great tips Kevin.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Fiddlerman said
That's cool Terry. You are also bitten by the luthier bug now.
Will we have the pleasure of meeting you in California?
As always, Kevin's advice is priceless!
I'm split in 2 about the California trip. I know it's gonna be a great experience and with a bit of juggling with flights around Europe I can get there for about £450 (original price was over £600!!) but my company is going through a take over and we have the risk of redundancies, or at least, no performance bonus paid in March which I was hoping would cover the trip.
I keep going on the flight web-site and my finger quivers over the "send payment" button, but I haven't had the guts yet to press it.........
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
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DO IT!!!!!!
LOL - Seriously though. You only live once.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Kevin M. said
I would first try cleaning it well. If the finish is bad then first test to see if it's a spirit varnish or an oil varnish. Take a drop of alcohol on a cotton swab and rub it on a small spot. if the varnish starts to melt away it's a spirit varnish and if not it's an oil varnish. If it's a spirit varnish I would do a french polish on it and blend the old with the new. If it's oil you can try to blend old and new but first sand with 600 to 800 grit. One thing to keep in mind is a spirit varnish can not be put over an oil varnish but an oil varnish can be put over a spirit varnish.
I'd use OOOO grade steel wool instead of paper... it leaves a smoother finish and you can easily polish it with a very fine liquid polish without leaving a lot of spider web size scratches. Trust me.
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
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Fiddlerman said
DO IT!!!!!!LOL - Seriously though. You only live once.
Or as Ian Fleming once said in a James Bond novel, "You only live twice.. Once when you are born, and once when you look Death in the eye."
LOL
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman
I have to agree with Kevin on this one. Using steel wool, no matter how fine, will have a tendency to follow both grain's of the wood, cutting into the soft part of the wood's grain leaving the harder grain higher. Sandpaper will cut down the hard grain leaving a smoother finish, i,e.. a less exagerated sand blasting or pressure power washer affect on the wood.
When I was working and building fine finished furniture, our finishe's were usually clear laquer. We would actually wet sand for the final finish with 400 or 600 grit wet or dry paper. I'm NOT saying to wet sand it, but IMO, the paper also will not leave any fine steel particle's imbedded in the wood, that can't be seen and leave a nicer finish.
Fiddlestix said
I have to agree with Kevin on this one. Using steel wool, no matter how fine, will have a tendency to follow both grain's of the wood, cutting into the soft part of the wood's grain leaving the harder grain higher. Sandpaper will cut down the hard grain leaving a smoother finish, i,e.. a less exagerated sand blasting or pressure power washer affect on the wood.
When I was working and building fine finished furniture, our finishe's were usually clear laquer. We would actually wet sand for the final finish with 400 or 600 grit wet or dry paper. I'm NOT saying to wet sand it, but IMO, the paper also will not leave any fine steel particle's imbedded in the wood, that can't be seen and leave a nicer finish.
The little steel fibers left behind in the wood have a tendency ti rust do to the water which the alcohol absorbs and as mentioned the wet or dry paper gives a flatter surface.
We need pictures of this violin.
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Terry! DOOOOOOO ITTTTTTT! You can always find another job, lmao.
You know, ebay is a great place to buy all of those parts you're looking for Terry; just be careful about the suppliers, because most of the material is really cheap, but there are some quality suppliers on ebay.
In regard to the finish; when I first started buying the vintage violins that I did, I had grand hopes of refinishing many of them in hopes of winding up with quality old-aged woods with pristine-looking instruments. But once I did a lot of research I discovered that the finish is such a large component of the sound of each instrument, and after starting to take one of the severely-damaged Juzek's down to bare wood, I realized just how difficult and time-consuming it is to do; and just how uncertain of the re-finish I am.
My feeling is, if the instrument has nicks and dings and hasn't just been abused, try to localize the repair to just those areas and recognize that to some extent, they do add character and history to the instrument. My two cents.
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