I enjoyed the real time varnishing very much maestro., and all the detailed comments about it. They are really constructive! Thank you very much, indeed! I also read the comments about how many coats you do. 😊🙏🌹👏👏
I paint the black after applying 4 or 5 coats of varnish so that the wood is perfectly insulated and there is no penetration of the black into the wood pores. Before applying it I remove the varnish only from the chamfers, without removing the ground, so as not to lose the insulation. You can find the whole process in this article: davidesora.altervista.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Davide-Sora-Blackening-the-chamfers.pdf The paint is the same one I use for the inside of the f-holes
@DavideSora i have to say that that red varnish with the black chamfers (along with the rest of your amazing work) makes the most beautiful scrolls I've ever seen. Blew me away when I saw them! Complimenti !
greetings Sora. Your violin has a beautiful golden background, do you use pigment to achieve that golden color? or just the materials of the varnish itself. I've been trying to make a golden background, with oil and alcohol varnish I can't get the gilding. Is it necessary to add pigment? or I could be applying the varnish incorrectly.
The golden yellow color of my base varnish comes only from the resins used, there are no added pigments. The seedlac already has a beautiful golden yellow color, and my very aged linoxin adds a reddish hue that makes it particularly golden without loss of transparency. Another aspect that favors this shade is the color of the wood which is not white as freshly worked but has undergone long exposure to UVA rays (UVA lamps) which gives it a reddish brown color which helps a lot to intensify the final color of the varnish. Another aspect that increases the brilliance of the wood is the finishing of the surfaces done exclusively with a scraper without ever using sandpaper, which is very important for the final outcome. And of course, before the varnish I also applied my mastic and turpentine refractive ground, as you can see here: ruclips.net/video/3kjqcnjZ8_4/видео.html The effect obtained with a varnish does not depend only on the varnish itself or on its intrinsic color but begins with the finishing of the wood and gradually on what is applied to emphasize its brilliance and color and to control the absorption of the varnish. It is a complex stratification process. I forgot, after darkening the wood with UVA and before applying the refractive ground, I also applied a casein-based sealer, as you see here: ruclips.net/video/hufyqxZ--Sg/видео.html
I like never to sand the varnish between coats. I sand lightly only once after applying the first coats of colorless (yellow) base varnish if it is necessary to remove any too protruding irregularities, then I sand only at the end of the varnishing and only after having applied all coats of the final protective colorless varnish (same as the base varnish). I prefer not to disturb the coats of colored varnish, it is too risky because it removes the color unevenly.
@@DavideSora Thank you so much. Your video may make it look relatively straight forward but applying spirit varnish with a brush without unwanted artefacts is certainly not easy. Some varnish structure (if regular) does look nice for sure. For the necessary sanding do you dry or wet sand and what grit(s) dou you use?
@@gil_evans For light sanding (protrusions leveling) I dry sand with 2400 grit Micromesh (or similar) supported on some kind of soft backing. For the final sanding to smooth the surface I sand with water with Micromesh 2400, 3200 and 4000 grit. If I don't want to flatten the surface too much, I use synthetic wool sheets such as Mirlon and Shinex, grit about 1500 to 3000.
Hello Dear Master Sora, There are times when you get a line when you do Spirit varnish, not an oil varnish, and I wonder how Maestro handsit. I have not found a solution to this problem because I am still inexperienced. Your reply would be very much appreciated.
If by "get a line" you mean the darker colored stripes forming in correspondence with the overlapping of the brush strokes, the answer is yes, it happens to me too, especially on the top plate. Of course, it is something that can be minimized by refining the brushstroke technique and using high quality brushes (I use sable brushes), but it cannot be completely avoided. The way to remedy it is to touch up adding more colored varnish with small brushes in the lighter areas only, to even out the color, it is always necessary to touch up the color with alcohol varnishes. Apply the colored layer with oil varnishes is much easier, but each type of varnish has its advantages and disadvantages, unfortunately nobody has invented the perfect varnish yet.😊
Hello Dear Master Sora, I hope you are well. Just wanted to update you regarding varnishing my first violin. I finally managed to obtain all the materials including the Casein to make the primer. I followed your advice and used Elemi instead of linoxyn at 1:5 ratio. After filtering the varnish It looked all good. So now I am on the 5th coat of varnish and the appearance of the wood is really rich golden colour. I am planning to apply at least 2 or 3 more. I like the colour but I would like to make it darker. I bought some pigments on line but they don’t dissolve in alcohol. Could you please advise me how to make different colour varnish still as per your formula. I am sorry for taking up too much of your time but please only respond if you can find a minute or so. I really don’t know much Master. Wish you and your family Merry Christmas. Regards Jo Juhasz
Pigments do not dissolve because they are insoluble, but must be kept in dispersion/suspension by stirring the varnish before and during application. I use them (I make them myself) because I think they give superior results in the final color effect, but I must admit that they require a rather difficult and complex application technique for beginners (and also for professionals...😅). A simpler way to color the varnish (used by many professional makers too) is to use synthetic soluble colors (such as JOHA brand: www.all4violins.com/en/shop/resine-colle-pennelli/coloranti/r-852-96-color-extract-joha-100-ml-various-colors/) which are added in drops until the desired intensity and shade are reached. Just buy a red-brown so that the red is not too bright, and add drop by drop to the varnish which, being a golden yellow base, will result in a warm red-orange color. It is not the same iridescent effect that you get with pigments, but to learn at the beginning it can be fine, possibly adding a small amount of insoluble pigment to increase the intensity of the red component. Using a little color and keeping the violins lighter is easier and advisable at the beginning, to obtain intense colors as you see on my violins is not easy and it takes a lot of experience to obtain presentable results.
@@DavideSora Dear Master Sora, Thank you for your extensive and caring response. I understand and will aply the knowledge on my second violin. It appears that I missed applying the reflective coating of mastic in turpentine essence following the casein sealer application. This was not in the video but appeared in one of your blogs. Anyway I have aplied ten coats of varnish in the hope that the coulour will get darker which it did but not enough. So now my first violin will be golden colour quite beautiful and I am still happy. I am just a beginner. I am in the process of fitting the nut and soon I will finish the neck with the chikory extract and linseed oil. I have enough uncoloured varnish that I can use to practice on a piece of wood with the insoluble pigment kept in suspension during application before the second violin is ready to be varnished. By the way applying the varnish was quite difficult as the tempereatures here in Perth Australia were between plus 30 to 38 degrees. I hardly had enough time to run the brush twice over a spot before the brush started sticking. Would you advise aiming for a larger diameter spot on the glass test. I will some of the synthetic varnish and try to get the second violin better. Thank you for all your teachings Master. Wish you and your family annd everyone else in Italy a very Healthy and Happy New Year. I myself look forward to becoming better in the New Year and put more of what I have learned from you into practice. Thank you.
@@jojuhasz3762 Yes, increasing the amount of solvent in the varnish can help a bit when it's very hot, even if it won't work wonders. The best thing would be an air-conditioned room to lower the temperature, I don't have air conditioning in the shop but I reach a maximum of 28/30 ° in summer.😊 As for the refractive ground, you are right, I apply mastic and turpentine (or colophony and turpentine, or a mix of both, whatever resin with a similar refractive index would work) after the casein and before the varnish. I haven't made a video of the application yet because the process is quite long (many hours) and making it understandable well in a video is quite difficult. But sooner or later I will try.
@@DavideSora Thank you Master Sora. My little workshop is the corner of my garage and it is not possible to air condition. Inside temperatures can reach 40+ degrees in summer. My wife said that for the next violin I can use one of the back rooms in the house for varnishing so that should solve the problem. I will definitely not forget the refractive ground. Actually because I have learned everything from you I would like to follow your method. I do not have any illusions about what I can achieve but in either case I love how you work and I love when my work is taking shape. It is a fantastic feeling t hold my work in my hands, Thank you very much Master with great Respect Jo
The summit of beauty and magnificence Maestro
I enjoyed the real time varnishing very much maestro., and all the detailed comments about it. They are really constructive! Thank you very much, indeed! I also read the comments about how many coats you do. 😊🙏🌹👏👏
Il legno e le finiture sono meravigliose !!! Tantissimi complimenti 🎻🎻🎻
Beautiful work! When do you add the black lines on the chamfers? Do you use the same vernice as the effe?
I paint the black after applying 4 or 5 coats of varnish so that the wood is perfectly insulated and there is no penetration of the black into the wood pores. Before applying it I remove the varnish only from the chamfers, without removing the ground, so as not to lose the insulation. You can find the whole process in this article: davidesora.altervista.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Davide-Sora-Blackening-the-chamfers.pdf
The paint is the same one I use for the inside of the f-holes
@DavideSora i have to say that that red varnish with the black chamfers (along with the rest of your amazing work) makes the most beautiful scrolls I've ever seen. Blew me away when I saw them! Complimenti !
greetings Sora.
Your violin has a beautiful golden background, do you use pigment to achieve that golden color? or just the materials of the varnish itself. I've been trying to make a golden background, with oil and alcohol varnish I can't get the gilding. Is it necessary to add pigment? or I could be applying the varnish incorrectly.
The golden yellow color of my base varnish comes only from the resins used, there are no added pigments. The seedlac already has a beautiful golden yellow color, and my very aged linoxin adds a reddish hue that makes it particularly golden without loss of transparency. Another aspect that favors this shade is the color of the wood which is not white as freshly worked but has undergone long exposure to UVA rays (UVA lamps) which gives it a reddish brown color which helps a lot to intensify the final color of the varnish. Another aspect that increases the brilliance of the wood is the finishing of the surfaces done exclusively with a scraper without ever using sandpaper, which is very important for the final outcome. And of course, before the varnish I also applied my mastic and turpentine refractive ground, as you can see here: ruclips.net/video/3kjqcnjZ8_4/видео.html
The effect obtained with a varnish does not depend only on the varnish itself or on its intrinsic color but begins with the finishing of the wood and gradually on what is applied to emphasize its brilliance and color and to control the absorption of the varnish. It is a complex stratification process.
I forgot, after darkening the wood with UVA and before applying the refractive ground, I also applied a casein-based sealer, as you see here: ruclips.net/video/hufyqxZ--Sg/видео.html
Beautiful base varnish and beautifully applied!
Do you "flatten" the varnish between coats?
I like never to sand the varnish between coats. I sand lightly only once after applying the first coats of colorless (yellow) base varnish if it is necessary to remove any too protruding irregularities, then I sand only at the end of the varnishing and only after having applied all coats of the final protective colorless varnish (same as the base varnish). I prefer not to disturb the coats of colored varnish, it is too risky because it removes the color unevenly.
@@DavideSora Thank you so much. Your video may make it look relatively straight forward but applying spirit varnish with a brush without unwanted artefacts is certainly not easy. Some varnish structure (if regular) does look nice for sure.
For the necessary sanding do you dry or wet sand and what grit(s) dou you use?
@@gil_evans For light sanding (protrusions leveling) I dry sand with 2400 grit Micromesh (or similar) supported on some kind of soft backing. For the final sanding to smooth the surface I sand with water with Micromesh 2400, 3200 and 4000 grit. If I don't want to flatten the surface too much, I use synthetic wool sheets such as Mirlon and Shinex, grit about 1500 to 3000.
@@DavideSora Thanks again
Hello Dear Master Sora,
There are times when you get a line when you do Spirit varnish, not an oil varnish, and I wonder how Maestro handsit.
I have not found a solution to this problem because I am still inexperienced.
Your reply would be very much appreciated.
If by "get a line" you mean the darker colored stripes forming in correspondence with the overlapping of the brush strokes, the answer is yes, it happens to me too, especially on the top plate. Of course, it is something that can be minimized by refining the brushstroke technique and using high quality brushes (I use sable brushes), but it cannot be completely avoided. The way to remedy it is to touch up adding more colored varnish with small brushes in the lighter areas only, to even out the color, it is always necessary to touch up the color with alcohol varnishes. Apply the colored layer with oil varnishes is much easier, but each type of varnish has its advantages and disadvantages, unfortunately nobody has invented the perfect varnish yet.😊
Hello Dear Master Sora,
I hope you are well.
Just wanted to update you regarding varnishing my first violin. I finally managed to obtain all the materials including the Casein to make the primer.
I followed your advice and used Elemi instead of linoxyn at 1:5 ratio. After filtering the varnish It looked all good. So now I am on the 5th coat of varnish and the appearance of the wood is really rich golden colour. I am planning to apply at least 2 or 3 more.
I like the colour but I would like to make it darker. I bought some pigments on line but they don’t dissolve in alcohol.
Could you please advise me how to make different colour varnish still as per your formula.
I am sorry for taking up too much of your time but please only respond if you can find a minute or so. I really don’t know much Master.
Wish you and your family Merry Christmas.
Regards
Jo Juhasz
Pigments do not dissolve because they are insoluble, but must be kept in dispersion/suspension by stirring the varnish before and during application. I use them (I make them myself) because I think they give superior results in the final color effect, but I must admit that they require a rather difficult and complex application technique for beginners (and also for professionals...😅). A simpler way to color the varnish (used by many professional makers too) is to use synthetic soluble colors (such as JOHA brand: www.all4violins.com/en/shop/resine-colle-pennelli/coloranti/r-852-96-color-extract-joha-100-ml-various-colors/) which are added in drops until the desired intensity and shade are reached. Just buy a red-brown so that the red is not too bright, and add drop by drop to the varnish which, being a golden yellow base, will result in a warm red-orange color. It is not the same iridescent effect that you get with pigments, but to learn at the beginning it can be fine, possibly adding a small amount of insoluble pigment to increase the intensity of the red component. Using a little color and keeping the violins lighter is easier and advisable at the beginning, to obtain intense colors as you see on my violins is not easy and it takes a lot of experience to obtain presentable results.
@@DavideSora Dear Master Sora, Thank you for your extensive and caring response. I understand and will aply the knowledge on my second violin. It appears that I missed applying the reflective coating of mastic in turpentine essence following the casein sealer application. This was not in the video but appeared in one of your blogs. Anyway I have aplied ten coats of varnish in the hope that the coulour will get darker which it did but not enough. So now my first violin will be golden colour quite beautiful and I am still happy. I am just a beginner. I am in the process of fitting the nut and soon I will finish the neck with the chikory extract and linseed oil. I have enough uncoloured varnish that I can use to practice on a piece of wood with the insoluble pigment kept in suspension during application before the second violin is ready to be varnished. By the way applying the varnish was quite difficult as the tempereatures here in Perth Australia were between plus 30 to 38 degrees. I hardly had enough time to run the brush twice over a spot before the brush started sticking. Would you advise aiming for a larger diameter spot on the glass test. I will some of the synthetic varnish and try to get the second violin better. Thank you for all your teachings Master. Wish you and your family annd everyone else in Italy a very Healthy and Happy New Year. I myself look forward to becoming better in the New Year and put more of what I have learned from you into practice. Thank you.
@@jojuhasz3762 Yes, increasing the amount of solvent in the varnish can help a bit when it's very hot, even if it won't work wonders.
The best thing would be an air-conditioned room to lower the temperature, I don't have air conditioning in the shop but I reach a maximum of 28/30 ° in summer.😊
As for the refractive ground, you are right, I apply mastic and turpentine (or colophony and turpentine, or a mix of both, whatever resin with a similar refractive index would work) after the casein and before the varnish. I haven't made a video of the application yet because the process is quite long (many hours) and making it understandable well in a video is quite difficult. But sooner or later I will try.
@@DavideSora Thank you Master Sora.
My little workshop is the corner of my garage and it is not possible to air condition. Inside temperatures can reach 40+ degrees in summer. My wife said that for the next violin I can use one of the back rooms in the house for varnishing so that should solve the problem. I will definitely not forget the refractive ground. Actually because I have learned everything from you I would like to follow your method. I do not have any illusions about what I can achieve but in either case I love how you work and I love when my work is taking shape. It is a fantastic feeling t hold my work in my hands,
Thank you very much Master with great Respect Jo
@@jojuhasz3762 Using a room in your home for varnishing would be the best solution if you can persuade your wife, but I know it's not easy...😂😂