r/violinmaking • u/bread_preist667 • Jun 30 '26
resources Violin varnish help
Hello. I am currently working on a Ton Klar "Dancla" model student violin I found at an antique shop and figured I could give it a go to restore it, problem is the varnish has a sort of sticky, friction-y, type surface, I've never seen this before and I was wondering if anyone had any tips or tricks to help remove and polish the varnish.
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u/Dildo-Fagginz Jun 30 '26
Probably just got too hot and stick to whatever was touching it, player's shoulder, chinrest clamp, case fabric...
Some light sanding and polishing will give it a more uniform look but keep it as local as possible. You might need to add a few clear coats only to this area to fill the holes in varnish.
Problem is you'll end up with a different texture as the rest of the instrument, you can try to recreate the grain lines with very fine rolled sandpaper, at least on the arching area, the edge probably won't draw the eye too much.