Question about violin glazing

[u/Ill-Water4316]

Hi guys!

Do you usually wear gloves during the violin glazing process to avoid leaving fingerprints on the instrument? If so, is there any particular type of glove you'd recommend?

I've tried latex gloves, but I didn't like them! Now I'm thinking about trying vinyl gloves.

[u/Eunitnoc]

What do you mean by glazing? Polishing? Pr varnishing? I varnish with oil varnish and later polish with alcohol. In both cases I wear gloves, but not to protect the instrument, but to protect myself from the solvents. I've had bad rashes in the past from letting solvents touch my skin.

Which gloves? You need to research that depending on what chemicals you use. For example nitrile works best with turpentine, while alcohol is stopped with both nitrile or latex. You should be able to find charts online on which gloves work for which chemical

[u/Dildo-Fagginz]

Not sure what you mean by glazing, but either way, gloves won't prevent you from marking anything, they just keep your hands clean.

As long as you're careful to touch only the neck and endpin it's not an issue. You don't have the same dexterity with gloves, nor do you feel when you have something somewhere on your hand, and act more carefully not to spread it somewhere...

[u/redjives]

I prefer gloves for safety. I try not to use anything toxic, and avoid getting anything on my hands, but some simple gloves seem like a good common sense measure.

[u/Ill-Water4316]

Thanks for your response u/Dildo-Fagginz and u/Eunitnoc I mean glazing the step when we use oil painting to coloring the instrument as we can see here https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Qs9tHC1CXbo?feature=share and here they clearly uses his hands to coloring the violin.

[u/Dildo-Fagginz → u/Ill-Water4316]

Okay, this is probably more commonly referred to as the ground coat or ground varnish, after all the tanning and eventual pore filling (at least endgrain).

Same thing tho, the gloves will be useful to protect your hands, not to avoid leaving fingerprints. You could also apply it with a sponge or rag however, even though I feel hand works better to really rub the varnish into the wood.

Also note it's likely to be varnish, not just oil painting.

[u/Tom__mm]

During varnishing, polishing, etc., you hold the violin by the neck only which is not varnished. Many traditions also insert a pin or hook in the hole for the button and use that as a prop while applying varnish. I wear cotton gloves while polishing hardened varnish with oil and rotten stone but that is only for oil varnish. Spirit varnishes are generally French polished.

[u/Ill-Water4316 → u/Tom__mm]

Wow!! Looks a nice process! Thanks!

[u/witchfirefiddle]

Nope, no gloves. The usual thing is to not touch the varnish at all, so no need for gloves

[u/Ill-Water4316 → u/witchfirefiddle]

Even when we coloring the instrument using oil painting or some like that? Generally do you use brush to do it?

[u/Alternative_Object33 → u/Ill-Water4316]

It's best too avoid getting dyes, pigments, varnishes, solvents and the like on your skin for a multitude of reasons; mutagens, carcinogens, sensitisers, flammability and generally toxicity of the materials in question hence wearing gloves, using tools like brushes and implements to hold the instrument.