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The Varnish

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Handbook of Materials for String Musical Instruments

Abstract

Varnish is used to give a shiny transparent finish to the surface of the musical instrument having an aesthetic and protective role. The varnish used by the Italian masters of the 16th and 17th century was credited with “extraordinary acoustic” properties. Varnishes of Old Italian instruments have three basic characteristics: transparency, quality of colour and effect on the sound of the instrument. From historical documents we know that the following substances have been used: dry fatty or essential oils (linseed or nut oils), solvents (turpentine, alcohol) combined with mineral pigments, organic colorants, resin, siccatives, etc.   The secrets of the splendid appearance of the varnishes of Old Italian violins were only partially revealed by modern technology, because only about three percent of the varnish by mass was found to corresponds to heavier elements. Nondestructive analytical techniques revealed the materials which composed the varnish, the structure of the coating system, the thicknesses and the number of layers, the interface wood varnish, the homogeneity of the varnish surface (wear areas, retouches, etc.). These techniques revealed nothing about the sources of various raw materials or even less about the procedure of varnishes preparation. Fortunately some aspects of the preparation procedure can be re-established from the history of craftsmanship of the Renaissance and Baroque eras. Based on three approaches – micro analytical, historical and archaeological, varnishes very similar to the Old Italian ones were reproduced. Using these varnishes the new musical instrument can have beautiful visual appearance and excellent acoustical qualities.

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    Voichita Bucur

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Appendices

Appendices

9.1.1 Appendix 1: Effects of Young’s Moduli E and Moments of Inertia I of Coating Systems

Three typical cases were analysed, namely, one varnish layer on wood support, two varnish layers, one on each side of wood support and finally two varnish layers on the same side of the support.

See Tables 9.28 and 9.29.

Table 9.28 Modulus of elasticity of the structure as a function of moduli of wood and varnish and the corresponding moments of inertia (data from McLennan 2000)
Full size table
Table 9.29 Moments of inertia for different structures (data from McLennan 2000)
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9.1.2 Appendix 2: Simulation of the Effects of Coatings

The specific mechanical behaviour of the composite described by each case will be strongly influenced by the inertia of the layers and the geometric parameters of the components of the system.

See Table 9.30.

Table 9.30 Simulation of the effect of coating on mechanical properties on wood varnished with layers of natural resin (data from McLennan 2000)
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9.1.3 Appendix 3: Models of Viscoelastic Behaviour

See Table 9.31.

Table 9.31 Models of viscoelastic behaviour of wood coated with several layers of varnish
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9.1.4 Appendix 4: Star Plot of Elemental Patterns in Old Italian Violins

Star plot describing elemental patterns detected by TXRF in Old Italian violins and in other more recent violins (data from von Bohlen 1999, Fig. 3 page 184).

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Bucur, V. (2016). The Varnish. In: Handbook of Materials for String Musical Instruments. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32080-9_9

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