OF VARNISH AND VARNISHING.
To write an exhaustive essay on this most absorbing subject before
us, to go into any manner of detail at all in the present work, is
not my intention. It is far too wide, too subtle, and, in my
opinion, is an art of itself, requiring not only great space in
which to voice its merits, its component parts, and the thousand and
one compounds in which those parts assimilate, but the calm of the
study rather than the bustle of the workshop, given out deliberately
by him whose conclusions are based on the sound issues arising from
momentous research, careful analysis of former old examples, and an
utter abhorrence of prejudice, for or against this or that compound
or colour--prejudice, mind, actuating choice.
But in continuation, though somewhat in parenthesis, a choice based
on determined observation of a matter is quite another thing; and I
tell you at once my experience as between spirit and oil varnish
condemns the former, whilst it very strongly advocates the latter;
and when one considers that it is in the nature of oil to assimilate
with wood, and to throw up its beauties, and whilst a mellowness
clings to the very name, the reverse on all points being the case
with spirit, the surprise is that varnish other than of oil should
be tolerated.
Besides, see the difference in wear. Use a violin coated with
spirit, and if the friction from its employment be severe, you have
cracks, pieces chipping here and there, the instrument getting barer
and barer daily, so that in time little of it, the varnish, is left.
But it is not so with oil; the wear _is_ wear, not in chips, but in
gradual diminishing of its substance, always a something being left;
added to which a beauty springs from such, in that softer gradations
of colour radiate and form a greater _depth_, from the fact of such
colour or colours being more readily absorbed.
Again, in their relations to Tone, I place the oil varnishes first;
and I think the point is pretty generally conceded, for what is on
the face _power_, which some attribute to the brittle, assertive
nature of the gums hardened by alcohol, is not in reality such, but
often aggressive noise, losing itself the more you retreat from it,
leaving real tone little to say for itself.
But coat the violin with oil; you certainly cannot complain of loud,
rasping responses to the call of the bow, whilst you _can_ make some
assertion as to quality. And, remember, as the soft nature of the
oil assumes a harder tendency day by day, so will increase the
sonority of the tones, whilst retaining the beauty of character with
which they began. Therefore, I shall draw your attention to the use
of oil varnish, utterly discarding that of spirit.
But to _what_ oil varnish is not my present purpose; why should I
seek to close the door on research and on experiment? It is for you,
students, to take home, each one of you, the lesson of the mighty
failure of thousands gone before you, in inability to bring to a
finish that upon which they have spent so many anxious hours, and do
something different and better. It is my intention to teach you,
step by step, how to lay on what you prepare for the brush: but
_not_ to say "get this or that oil," or "this or that colour,"
except in the abstract--red, orange, amber, yellow, etc., etc.,
being names only.
I say this at once so that there may be no mistake--so that none can
say _I_ use this or that: my own varnish and colouring _are_ my own
solely, and I reserve the secret for the benefit of my family,
should it prove of value after my career be ended.
Fashion a piece of wood so that it fits easily into the hole at the
end of the violin in which, later, the end pin is inserted. It must
have a rough sort of handle, because by it you will hold the
instrument when you have occasion otherwise than by the neck; for
you must on no account touch the wood before you varnish, nor
afterwards, with your hands, nor must you allow others to do so,
when, in your pardonable pride of heart, you show your creation to
your friends.
With a clean sponge, wrung out of tepid water, and a camel-hair
brush for parts where the sponge will not be of service, go all over
your violin, but do not wet it heavily--far from it; and when quite
dry, on the slightly roughened surface thus left, place a yellow or
amber coating of turpentine, thoroughly mixing with it a little of
the oil varnish selected by you along with your colouring matter as
you arrange, yellow or amber. To do this well, and for future use,
you must have half to one inch flat camel-hair and fine hog-hair
brushes. A round hog-hair brush, medium size, is good for this
initial coating (some call it sizing; but I think this is
misleading--"size" being generally understood to bear reference to
glue, and we want none of _that_ under varnish.)
This should be dry in about two or three days, when you may lay on a
second course, less turpentine and rather more varnish; also less
yellow and a _very_ little red. This will take somewhat longer to
dry, and please observe that the more varnish (if it be oil and gum,
pure and simple) so much longer it will be in drying; and, as you
advance to the final stage, you will gradually discard the
turpentine altogether, as you will the yellow, colouring at last
with red only.
As you advance step by step, and before you venture on another
layer, with the tip of your finger test the varnish, and if there be
the _least tackiness_, wait a day or two until all be dry. And as a
roughness is bound to show itself as stage after stage is passed, it
is well to smooth down each course when dry with fine No. 0
glass-paper upon which is first spread a _drop_ of pure Lucca oil,
which, of course, must be lightly applied to the body of varnish,
and the whole carefully wiped with clean linen or silk handkerchief
afterwards.
Now, after the first two coats, you must use about a three-quarter
inch fine hog-hair brush (not many hairs in, mind) and for the later
coats one with camel hair. Sit on a low chair, have the light to
your right hand, the varnish before you handy, not too high. The
violin is held by neck, left hand of course; the stick at the broad
end through the hole where comes later the end pin (see above) rests
on your right leg as you sit. Get a fair dip of varnish in your
brush, but NEVER flood it; and beginning carefully under the
fingerboard, first one side, then the other, working the top sides
of the instrument also alternately, until the soundholes be reached,
when inside these cuts must be neatly coloured, after which you just
tip your brush with the varnish, neatly continuing where you leave
off, so that none can see a break in your progress. This advice
applies until ribs and scroll be all done after the belly and the
back. I have ever found the upper table the most exacting and
difficult; but, once again, _never flood your brush_, and you will
varnish sooner or later. But never _hurry_: and this advice applies
to every thing you do in the construction of the violin. Patience of
no ordinary character you must exercise; if you have it not it will
come to you, but through experience alone, through failures, through
catastrophes innumerable. But what then? These things that have
mastered you stand mastered in turn in the excellent result of
to-day, so let yesterday go to the wall.
Now that we can consider the operation of varnishing at an end, the
instrument is hung on a wire, free to the warm dry air of a room or
to a passage where a current of it is circulating. When hard (and
there is no actual time to gauge this by) prepare to finish off and
rub down the whole; and care must be observed that no scratch
appears, for a surface looks bad, very bad, with anything of this
sort to mar its beauty.
The first essential in this process is pure Lucca oil, which does
not clagg; and the next, specially prepared pumice stone powder,
which _must_ be as fine as flour; and should there be any doubt
about its being absolutely free from specks of grit, filter it
through fine muslin or silk, and only use that which passes through,
in water.
Then take some brown paper and make a pad, rubbing on oil and a
sprinkling of the pumice stone powder, when you can go over portions
of the back, very lightly feeling your way to see whether all works
smoothly and no scratch in the operation. If this be so, continue on
these lines, sparingly adding more powder, but freely using the oil.
You can, to smooth off, use saturated rag (oiled) and after that, a
dry pad of very fine muslin or silk.
The belly is tedious, more so than the back, and the ribs still more
so. Contrivances to get into corners and curves of the latter, you
will have to resort to, such as small pieces of paper, and pumice
stone and oil, and oiled fine glass-paper, and finely rubbed pieces
of curved wood, with which you can operate to smooth near edges of
ribs, etc.
All _can_ be done well, all _must_ be done well; for, remember,
there is to be no French rubbish (polish, I mean), on the top of
this oil varnish, but your hand must finally bring up its lustre, as
I can show you mine has so frequently brought to a rich glow that
preparation made and used by me, on my own work only.