The Quartet of Peace: Varnishing the viola ...

I have taken many hours off regular workshop time to further my research on varnish, realizing that to get close to old Cremonese instruments is only possible using 17th century materials.

This has led me on a wonderful adventure: constructing a primitive distilling plant, making traditional Indian Yellow (collecting urine from cows fed on mango leaves), contacting Kirstenbosh Botanical Gardens about "Weld" and going into the mountains in search of this plant, stopping on the highway at night to pick an aloe leaf.

There is always great excitement when fellow violin makers get to gather and share their ideas on the holy grail of varnishing - each one believing emphatically that they have discovered the secret to Stradivarius varnish!

What is usually more fascinating than their actual recipes is how they 'discovered' the magic formular - conjuring up romantic stories of receiving this recipe from an an elderly violin maker on his death bed, or a crumpled piece of parchment found in the inside cover of an old bible or manuscript!

After all my research I am now using a varnish made entirely from natural materials which is an incredibly simple mixture! Rather hard to believe after viewing my varnish cupboards! I must have a sample of almost every colour, resin or oil that is available on the planet, from the most obscure to odd bits of resin collected from a nearby tree!

I begin by using a wonderful primer which I import from my friend and colleague Koen Padding in Holland - Magister. This is brushed onto the wood and thereafter The instrument is exposed to the sun for several days giving a lovely golden colour.

I then burnish the maple (back and sides) with a cloth that has very little colour varnish on it. This brings out the figure of the wood without destroying the reflective qualities which happens if a stain was used.

This is followed by applying a 'silica' powder to fill the pores of the wood which forms almost a mist over the instrument. The wood comes alive once again when applying the clear ground coat as can be seen in the video below.

The actual varnish which I cook myself, is made from Walnut oil and Strasbourg (Silver fir) turpentine, with small amounts of Mastic and Sandarac added for durability and to help with drying. This process is such a delight to do and for moments one can be transported to 17th century Cremona identifying with the apothecaries and varnish makers of that time!

Exotic scents of evaporating resin waft through the air, enlivening the neighbourhood. Once the resin has been cooked for several days it is then dissolved in warmed sun thickened walnut oil. It is more common these days to use linseed oil but I have found walnut oil tends to be more flexible and has a much better long term prognosis.

Each instrument has an inscription placed on the back. This has been drawn onto the ground coat with a charcoal pencil before applying the varnish. 'Freedom' for Albert Luthuli, 'Peace' for Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 'Reconciliation' for FW de Klerk and 'Hope' for Nelson Mandela.

For colour, I use madder lakes (made from the madder root plant) which I get from Magister and then tone down these incredibly bright colours by using less color and more dark varnish or alternatively adding a small amounts of indigo lakes. This is all hand ground into the varnish on a slab of glass.

All of my varnishing is done with my fingers which gives one an incredible control of applying it evenly and thinly. I do some shading of the varnish to give an aesthetically pleasing look contrasting the rich red madder to the golden colour of the primed wood. The fingerprints flow out whilst the varnish is drying.

My varnish has a soft 'waxy' appearance, which is not over polished and has a lovely texture - I achieve this by leaving the surface without extensive rubbing down.