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Violin Varnish Touch Up and Repair | Before and After Photos

Instruments sometimes get nicks or scratches that can be touched up. The upper right rib is also prone to varnish wear. Generally, the larger the area the more time it takes to match and touch-up the varnish.

Violin Repair: It is somewhat difficult to give price estimates for varnish touch up without seeing the instrument.

Some Before Shots:

IMG 20220118 130405 692 IMG 20220118 130405 692
IMG 20220118 130424 872 IMG 20220118 130424 872
IMG 20220118 130510 246 IMG 20220118 130510 246
IMG 20220118 130545 317 IMG 20220118 130545 317
  

 

After Shots:

IMG 20220503 180452 723 IMG 20220503 180452 723
IMG 20220503 180508 381 IMG 20220503 180508 381
IMG 20220503 180521 039 IMG 20220503 180521 039

 

Another Violin's Before Shots:

IMG 20211103 112332 221 IMG 20211103 112332 221
IMG 20211103 113418 177 IMG 20211103 113418 177
 

 

A violin where the music stand crashed into the top. It created a dent and knocked the varnish off.

  • I steamed the gash/dent out as much as possible.
  • Then filled the remainer with a clear
  • Next step was to match the base coat color
  • Finish off with matching the varnish color
  • Finally Polish
IMG 20230816 123444 677 IMG 20230816 123444 677
IMG 20230817 121805 195 IMG 20230817 121805 195
 

 

Comments (2)
violin touch up
# 2
Sunday, 11/06/2016
Zac yu
Hi,

the bow hits the corner of my violin while playing and I got some dents and wood can seen. I'm asking if varnish touch up can be applied to these regions.
Nicked Corners
Monday, 02/13/2017
Craig Scollard
It depends on the extent of the damage. If it's just a little nick in the wood, it could be steamed or possibly a very small amount of clear could be used to fill the ding before the varnish is applied. If there is a little more damage, it could be filled, or if it's severe damage, a little piece of wood needs to be fitted before the touch up varnish work is done.

If it's just the varnish that's missing then it can be matched fairly easily.
denatured alcohol mishap
# 1
Wednesday, 11/26/2014
Jennifer Vender
I accidentally set my new violin on top of a rag with denatured alcohol which stripped away some of the varnish on the back i have pics i can send to you
Fixing alcohol accidents
Wednesday, 02/14/2018
Tony
Thats an easy fix, what you can do is put some denatured alcohol on a rag, not too, much but enough to dampen an area of the rag, then on that same area put a bit of mineral oil and rub it into the rag. Then with the wet part of the rag rub it around in circles quickly on the area and it should slowly mend. Hang up untill its totally dry.
Alcohol Accident
Wednesday, 04/11/2018
Craig Scollard
Thanks for the suggestion, but it's difficult to determine what the best remedy would be without seeing the extent of the damage. The technique you are suggesting is somewhat similar to french polishing out the spot. That's a skill that takes a little bit of practice before doing it on a nice instrument.
Alcohol Accident
Wednesday, 04/11/2018
Craig Scollard
When a mishap with alcohol like that happens, your first instinct might be to try to rub off the alcohol. It's better to just let it dry naturally and then later add in some matching varnish and then French Polish the area so that it blends in with the original varnish.

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