Violin Forum/Message Board

[Dave Chandler]

I had a violin teacher long (long, long, long) ago, was a retired cellist from the Chicago Symphony, his brother an instrument maker, encouraged me to clean my violin with a few drops of lighter fluid on an old handkerchief. Did a great job as I remember. No wax in it, evaporated very fast.

REcently, someone gave me some "bore oil" which as I read is for keeping the interior wood of the clarinet from drying out and cracking, also read where its used for bores of bagpipes (also wood).

I used it to polish up an old german "Strad" after I had removed lots of build up of debris perhaps 50 years of dust and fly specs etc, and it really left a an incredibly clean and glossy finish, no color coming off that I could see, no apparent waxy or oily sheen, but can't find anything about it. Maybe once in fifty years won't hurt. What about on a regular basis though?

It does say it has petroleum distillates, so that tells me that it may be incompatible with what we would want to put on instruments ... although I'm using it only as a cleaner on the varnished surface, not on unfinished wood.

Anyone have any thoughts on these two petroleum-based items? Dangers? Good? Bad? Indifferent?
_________________
Dave in the Blue Ridge
Southern Violin Association

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to the next with no loss of enthusiasm" Winston Churchill

"I took the road less travelled, and now I don't know where I am." Marco Polo

[Michael Darnton]

I always feel better when I know exactly what I'm using. I'm pretty sure lighter fluid is OK, IF it doesn't remove the varnish, because it will evaporate. The bore oil would scare me, though, unless I knew for sure that it was a solvent and not an oil. Generally, things that evaporate are OK, things which leave residue are not. Assuming there's no varnish damage, of course--don't be wiping your violin with acetone, for instance.

[FiddleDoug]

Sounds like something designed to soak into the wood. I wouldn't use it on a violin. Could soak into glue joints, or any exposed wood, and cause problems later.
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Doug Wall

www.wallindependent.com