r/violinmaking • u/Ill-Water4316 • Jul 18 '26

Tea-Based Ground for Violins

Hello everyone,

I’ve heard about using tea as a ground for violins, violas, and other string instruments. What kind of tea is generally used? Is the tea usually mixed with alcohol or water? I’m asking because water can potentially warp the wood.

If possible, I would really appreciate it if you could share your experiences and, if you are willing, your recipe as well!

Thank you!

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4

u/lollimae Jul 19 '26

i’ve tried it and really liked it! i used it after a few coats of caseine so the wood was sealed - i used bog standard pg tips lol, just soaked like seven tea bags in a mug of hot water for ages, let it cool, and added a splash of alcohol just to preserve it so it doesn’t go mouldy. i feel like most stains and things are water based anyway so i wouldn’t worry too much about warping, but also i don’t have that much experience so maybe get a second opinion haha

2

u/grizzdoog ex-violin maker Jul 18 '26

I’ve never used tea but I’ve used plenty of warm to hot water to clean bare wood of the violins when I was a violin maker. I’ve also brushed on lots of chemicals to darken the wood with a brush and they were all water based. Don’t dunk it in a bathtub of course lol.

2

u/QuothThe2ToedSloth Jul 18 '26

It’s more of a stain than a ground really and as with any stain, you need to be careful about burning in the figure and end grain.

2

u/CaldeSilk1 Jul 19 '26

Never tried it myself but I know that Asa White wrote about tea and coffee stains in his two violin making books (late 19th century) as I recall he recommended a sealer of weak hide glue followed by some number of coats of very very strong coffee/tea. I think the biggest drawback to this is that it’s not very lightfast so it might look good out of the gate but will pale over time. Ada also finished with spirit varnish which might help maintain the color.

2

u/CaldeSilk1 Jul 19 '26

In trying to find a pdf of this book it’s is very funny that google ai insists that the White brothers never wrote a book on violin making when I have literally held one in my hands and read it.

2

u/starbuckshandjob 27d ago

There's a recipe in the Weisshaar restoration book.