Violin varnish
The violin varnish protects the wood from chemical and mechanical damage. It also has an aesthetic function. The paint consists of various natural resins that are dissolved in oil or spirit , depending on the paint .
Some ingredients
history
A historically common paint is oil paint . It has not been established whether the old masters such as Amati , Stradivari and Guarneri used it. Oil varnish dries more slowly and is not necessarily softer than spirit varnish . With regard to the hardness of the paint, the type of resin is decisive. Spirit varnish is very popular today due to its short drying times.
composition
The base of the paint is always the solvent . The simplest varnish can be achieved by dissolving grain varnish in alcohol for a few days. This is filtered and provided with additives such as benzoin , mastic or sandarac , depending on how hard or soft the paint should be. For color lacquer, dyes such as dragon blood are added. The quality of a paint results from a balanced ratio of resins and solvents to each other, whereby it is a great and difficult art to produce a really optimal paint. The characteristics of a good lacquer include not only a beautiful color, sufficient transparency, sufficient elasticity, but also good applicability and a pleasant surface finish.
application
Painting is done in three work steps. First, several layers of base coat are applied. This is followed by several coats of colored lacquer and finally a top coat is used .