The basics of varnish
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- As the violin of the Making a Violin Series is approaching its final fase, I start talking a bit about Varnish. In this video we take a look at the basics.
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Finally someone shared a reliable recipe for the varnish, I was really anticipating this video!! Thank you so much!
Thank you for your kind words!
Your instructions are amazing.
Thank you so much!
Bravo maestro Kimon ! Again another of your excellent tutorial videos ! Thanks
Thank you!
You're a good theater. Thank you!
Thank you too!
Very informative Kimon. I plan to use French polishing for my violin, the same i will use for my acoustic guitars. Thank you for your nice videos .
Thank you Christer!
Thank you very much, Master. This series has really helped me appreciate all the work that goes into violin making and luthiers, and surely inspires me to become a better player. You, sir, are a true artist whose service helps players like me everyday!
Thank you so much for your kind words Pranay! It means a lot to me!
Great info, thank you for going into detail on the varnish process. All the books I have read now make more sense.
Good to hear Tal!
Thank you so much my dear sir.
Great video, thank you. May I say, and your English is excellent, that the word 'solves' is not the same as 'dissolves', for future reference in making videos, although it is very clear what you meant. This is the only video I have seen which quickly and practically explains how to varnish a violin, for which I am eternally grateful. Regarding sealers, one option is egg white/gelatin, as noted by the fact that you use it in another video. I once tried high quality linseed oil, which looked great but is not a good option as it affects the sound too much and never dries!!
Thank you for your suggestion and kind words! There are a lot of difeerent sealers, none is better that the other in my opinion. I like mastic as I like the effect that it has of the flaming of the back and I come from Greece!!!!!
Finally! Thank you so much for the explanation and the recipe maestro, though I should say it's really difficult and expensive getting mastic and elemi here but I liked the technique of mixing the resins separately then adding the filtered varnishes together.
I know that these are expensive materials but they are very common in varnishes for instruments. All the recipes that I have contain at least one. At the other hand you need a small amount (80gr of mastic for 3 violins) so that makes it a bit easier.
@@maestrokimon wish it was as easy Maestro, I've been searching for mastic since a long long time without any success anywhere around Mumbai, but thank you so much for sharing the recipes and instructions, I hope I could try something out which keeps the varnish transparent, durable but also flexible
I have sent you an e-mail!
Excellent! I want to apply a violin varnish on my guitar
Why should you do that?
@@maestrokimon I want to have the same appearance using natural ingredients ua-cam.com/video/9EMnUYDrYsU/v-deo.html
Just a very quick question. Is the mastic desolved in alcohol a good sealer before using oil varnish?
Can you explain the Juniper….. what part of the juniper tree are you adding. Wood, sap, bark, berries. When I search for juniper, I can only find the berries for sale
Great information. Which Alcohol is best to use?
I always use 99% Ethanol.
@@maestrokimon would you use this same recipe for touch-up work?
Hey Kimon, thank you for a great video. I have a question - how long would this alcohol varnish be useful, does it have some expiration time?
Hello Klemen. If you keep that varnish in a dark vase, you could use is for pretty some time. Hard to say exactly but I think more than a year.
Καλησπέρα Κίμωνα
Συγχαρητήρια για το βίντεο σου και για τη γνώση που μοιράζεις.
Έχω ένα μπουζούκι με ελαιολουστρα από τον αξιολογο οργανοποιο και ανθρωπο Χρήστο Σπουρδαλακη και το φυλάω σαν τα μάτια μου.
Εύχομαι τα καλύτερα
Ηλιας
Γειά σου Ηλία. Σε ευχαριστώ πολύ για τα καλά σου λόγια! Καλά να περνάς!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Just one question, what type of alcohol has to be use for the recipe?
The best is ethanol. You can find it here: www.joha.eu/en/varnishes/spirit-varnishes/spirit-varnish-ia/spirit-varnish-dilution?c=332
Thanks for the video!
Thanks for watching!
Great videos. Where is the start of varnishing the instrument we "helped" you make? I feel post part or something not seeing it past the toddler stage. I'm a good parent *now I'll be quiet*
That will be the upcoming video of the Making a Violin Series, online the 10th on June!
Okay, I thought the series was over. Thank you.
Supported!
Thanks,good job
Thank you!
Hey Maestro, where do you buy the ingredients for your varnish?
hey really enjoyed your video .. was wondering your thoughts of danish oil stain? i would like to make my current cello darker .. between a dark & normal brown with a slightly matt / satin finish for that old look .. would appreciate your thoughts :)
I have no experience with these products. They seem to be ment for furniture. By the name i'm guessing that they contain also oil which is not good to apply directly to the instrument as much of it will enter the wood. I would stick to products made for musical instruments.
maestro-Kimon, please, do you think that 96% medical ethanol will be sufficient?
I'm afraid not. The rosin's wont dissolve completely.
Dear Maestro,
I'm trying to make the varnish explained in this video, but the juniper does not dissolve in my 99.9% ethanol while the mastix, shellac and elemi have dissolved within 24h. Do you usually Heat the mixture up, or is my juniper of the wrong quality perhaps? Its resin from the sandarac tree not a conifer like juniper if that matters.
Thanks for your advice!
THANK YOU!
You're welcome!
Could you please make a video that shows how you actually do the varnishing?
Hello Itiya. Have a look to this video: ua-cam.com/video/EGF5_PlQDIE/v-deo.html it is a review of a varnish but you can have an idea of what you have to do.
Hi Maestro. Thanks again for your great videos. I have a question. Using Mastic as a sealer - id like to try this. Do you have any suggestions for the ratio of alcohol to the mastic? Does it need to be heated or just soaked in the alcohol for a period of time? Many thanks. Martin.
Hello Martin. Thank you for your kind words and for supporting my channel via Patron! You just have to solve mastic until in saturates. keep adding little by little until you see that it doesn't solve anymore. The filter the excess away and use it normally. You don't need to heat it up, just leave it overnight to melt.
maestro-Kimon brilliant. Many thanks.
Maestro, today I applied my mastic plate sealer to the Australian Blackwood hardanger Fiddle That I am making. Wow! The effect was magic. Flame appeared that was barely visible before. Thanks so much for the tips. I’ll be using this from now on.
Good to hear Martin! I experiment with different varnished but my mastic sealer as a must!!!
Hello maestro. I am making the varnish as you described but i do not have juniper. Does it work with shellac + mastic + elemi only? Do I have to change the porpotion?
If you change the component of the varnish it will become to hard or to soft. Juniper is also called Sandarac. You could order it here:
www.cremonatools.com/sandarac-100g.html
or here:
www.kremer-pigmente.com/en/mediums-binders-und-glues/solvent-soluble-binders/natural-resins/2016/sandarac
@@maestrokimon thank you!!
Nice channel! Though I don’t understand much about what is lectured in this video, it’s informative. =)
I’m just a violin player =)
May I ask, I got a violin which is somewhat “oil varnish”,,, it’s been about 12 years and the varnish hasn’t “dried completely yet”. I read some articles that the varnish needs to be “uv treated”... it’s been unplayed for quite some many years time now, and unstringed, soundpost removed, and basically not “setup”...how would I get the varnish to “harden” or dry out completely? Because now whenever I touch the varnish(few seconds), my fingerprint will be left on the varnish...
The best is to bring the violin to a violinmaker to try to harden the varnish a bit more. If you want to do it yourself you will have to make a chamber for this one time. Too expensieve. Also you won't exactly know what you are doing.
If I just want to buy some commercially made varnish, which is any good?
Do you mean a varnish that is not made for musical instruments like a furniture varnish? I think none!
Thank you!
Thank you for watching Samir!
What dye I should use to black the fretboard sir? ?
You can have a look at grandiliutai.it for a special dye for fingerboards. I haven't used it though so I can't tell you if it is good. Otherwise I use an acrylic met black paint.
@@maestrokimon So kind of you sir .. for violin I believe your words and your tutorials ... thank you so much sir....looking for this reply ... love form India.❤
what is elmi and how can i get it ?
I have two older violins from 1920's probably...one has very matte reddish color /w flamed maple back and the other one is very very glossy and smooth with spruce on both sides...tried to find some more about them but no luck...It says Adolf Benson, Attleboro 1926 in th f-hole, the glossy one has no label at all=)
What is the %purity in the alcohol for the solvent?
It is 99,9% ethanol.
maestro-Kimon oh, thank you very much
Does anyone here have experience with using Isopropyl Alcohol as a solvent? It works great with just shellac for french polishing as it is not as agressive on the existing layers of shellac.
I have never used it Pascal. It is something worth trying I think.
Hello im gonna varnish my double bass im a little nervous lol
Don't be, you will do a good job, I'm sure!
@@maestrokimon Thank you. Yeah have everything i need for it. Just finishing the sanding and smoth it before varnishing
Unless you live in Greece, mastic is very expensive.
Also in Greece it's pretty expensieve. But you need only 80 grams.
you need from here 4:00
sorry?
Thank you ❤️
Thank you too!