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Honorary tenured advisor
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Hello Cat! What would you suggest to clean up smeared finish where someone put the bridge on a wet Violin? Not me by the way.
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springer said
Hello Cat! What would you suggest to clean up smeared finish where someone put the bridge on a wet Violin? Not me by the way.
That's a problem! It depends on how much of the finish was damaged - does the mark go through more than one layer of varnish? What type of varnish was used? Do you have pictures?
Long answer: If it's only a smear on the very last coat of varnish, it can be carefully sanded smooth with very fine sandpaper (800 grit sandpaper can be found at most any auto repair store) and left as-is if you don't care that the spot is not shiny. If you want to bring the shine back, you can try a polishing compound, very gently. If you know what type of varnish was used you can touch up the dull spots if you must...
Short answer: we need more info to make a good judgement call on this one.
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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If the varnish was still soft, at least you can be sure your bridge gets 100% contact with the violin
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
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Hello! As for my problem. I would say multiple layers, and almost dry. There is a ridge of varnish towards the neck and the bridge was done by a 3 year old, mabe 2 year old. You have heard of the preverbial Violin ishaped object well now I have ONE. Buyer be ware. I saw a beautiful violin on ebay and I took a chance and I lost. When I got this thing a blind man could see that it could not play the A and E strings touched the fingerboard for about two inches.
I made a new bridge that would allow it to play but it needs the fingerboard fixed. It is going to have to go to a luthier.
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springer said
Hello! As for my problem. I would say multiple layers, and almost dry. There is a ridge of varnish towards the neck and the bridge was done by a 3 year old, mabe 2 year old. You have heard of the preverbial Violin ishaped object well now I have ONE. Buyer be ware. I saw a beautiful violin on ebay and I took a chance and I lost. When I got this thing a blind man could see that it could not play the A and E strings touched the fingerboard for about two inches.I made a new bridge that would allow it to play but it needs the fingerboard fixed. It is going to have to go to a luthier.
Aha! A Project! I admit that I haven't been following the forum closely of late and didn't know this was the eBay fiddle. Start a thread here so we can all watch the progress 
We really need pictures - it might be salvageable and you know how we love to watch a train wreck...
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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What a beautiful fiddle Ruby is turning out to be!
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Shellac at last! Ruby's color is developing nicely and the texture of the belly is a thing of beauty. I've been having a lot of trouble with contamination of the finish which is why this project may seem to be stalled, but rest assured that we're still moving forward and learning all sorts of new Things Not To Do 
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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Yay Progress!!!
Great to hear more about your project Cat
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Ruby is lookin' beautiful Cat. Don't worry about the time either. I'm glad you are taking your time and really learning what you are doing. I can't wait to make her sing.
Cat, why do you put the finish on with the fingerboard in place? I like to put the fingerboard on with a minimun amount of glue so I can remove it for doing the finish. Being a kit I suspect that the fingerboard came already fitted to the neck. If you have some other reason, I would like to know. I am always open to different ways of doing something.
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Kevin M. said
Cat, why do you put the finish on with the fingerboard in place? I like to put the fingerboard on with a minimun amount of glue so I can remove it for doing the finish. Being a kit I suspect that the fingerboard came already fitted to the neck. If you have some other reason, I would like to know. I am always open to different ways of doing something.
Couple of reasons, first, that sucker is ON. The SFF fingerboard came off with a tap of a rubber mallet, but this one is glued very well, and the joint is pretty, so I hate to leave any marks removing it. Second, there is evidence that the Masters often varnished with the fingerboard on. Somewhere I have a wonderful picture that shows a contrast between the bright, shiny varnish of the belly and a duller, darker color under the fingerboard, and it looks fabulous IMHO - old, but still well done. I want this fiddle to look hand made, and little quirks help distinguish it from the millions of factory fiddles on the market today.
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
Thank you Mary,
When repairing violins and refinishing the belly I always took the fingerboard off, what a pain. I'll have to try it with leaving the fingerboard on.
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Kevin M. said
Thank you Mary,When repairing violins and refinishing the belly I always took the fingerboard off, what a pain. I'll have to try it with leaving the fingerboard on.
I had my doubts about getting a brush under there and leaving runs, but it's not difficult if you use a small brush. So far, so good, in this case at least 
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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Sure is developing into a great looking instrument. We're all drumming our fingers now, waiting to hear it.
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
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TerryT said
Sure is developing into a great looking instrument. We're all drumming our fingers now, waiting to hear it.
Video on page 9 of this thread...Can't decide if I want to get her suited up again to play before varnish. I'm working 3 jobs this week, and the weather is crap, so I may just start on the varnish and leave the playing for later...
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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any time i'm on here, i look for a post from you. i'm having problems with mine, but it's nice to see your's moving along
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How is Ruby (the red fiddle) coming along Cat. I hope you're not having any doubts of selling her to me 
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myguitarnow said
How is Ruby (the red fiddle) coming along Cat. I hope you're not having any doubts of selling her to me
I've got a big ol' steaming pile of cra...Life on my plate right now. The shellac is done and I've started painting the corners and scroll outline - man is that hard to get perfect! Looks great, though. I hope to have the outline done tonight (needs a couple of coats to be really black) and Monday is my only day off and it's supposed to be (what passes for) warm here so the first coat of varnish will go on whether or not the bugs are out! Progress report very soon 
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
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so Cat... you're selling your 'Ruby' to Scott?
...another fiddle destined for the couch...next to the others.
"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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