Violin Forum/Message Board

[Michael N]

Where on the scale of toughness/durabilty do these varnishes come? i know that much may depend on oil/resin ratio and perhaps the cooking but I've read Fulton varnish as being 'a little soft', I've also read it as being ' a tough. durable varnish'. I.ve made varnish from pine resin but Fulton differs in that he starts with Turpentine. I assume that will make some difference to the end result.
Am I correct in thinking that a short oil varnish is tougher than a long oil varnish (everything else being equal) - or is that a little too simplistic?

[Michael Darnton]

I can't specifically answer your question except to comment that when oil is predominant, the characteristics of oil predominate; when resin predominates, resin characteristics emerge, but that each, resin or oil, has more than just one characteristic. Resins, for instance, have strength, hardness, AND melting point. The trick is finding the right balance. Some soft resins melt at relatively low temperatures, and more oil (which you might think as a softener) will help in that regard by keeping the resin from melting; some hard resins need softening, and more oil will help that, too. So you can see that what to do depends on a balance of problems.

Usually for violins 50/50 oil/resin is a conservative starting point for trying to figure where to go next.

With that in mind, Fulton varnish could be all of soft, tough, and durable, like Kevlar fabric is.

Fulton's turpentine resin is not the equivalent of rosin, even though they might come from the same trees. I have no experience with either, though, so I can't help more.