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Internet Cello Society Forums > Instruments and Equipment > Revarnishing
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GM Justice Registered User (3/7/01 3:32:15 pm) Reply	Revarnishing I recently bought a used cello (its about 20 years old now) which is a bit banged up and needs some minor repairs. It plays well, but one of the problems with it is the varnish. The instrument has many small horizontal cracks running through it, and in some places along the edges its chipped away. My question is: should I get the cello revarnished? How expensive is it? And what will revarnishing do to the sound quality of the instrument? Thanx Brian
Len Thompson Registered User (3/7/01 4:21:11 pm) Reply	Re: Revarnishing Those cracks are what I have always called crazing. Most likely caused by a very sudden temp. change that caused the wood to expand faster than the finish, thereby cracking the finish. If the sound is good, you might want to just leave it as is, and touch-up only the damage at the edges. A refinishing will fix it totally, but I imagine the cost of one done properly will be quite high. I would guess the cost would be $1500.+, but not sure. To prevent this from happening again I would suggest the following. When you take your cello outside after putting it in it's case, and after your journey, bring it back inside, let it sit in the case unopened for awhile (depending on how cold it was outside), then when it has had some time to acclimate, loosen the lid of the case without opening it, and slowly fan a little air in at a time. This should prevent temp shock! All the best to you! Len
drcello Registered User (3/8/01 7:35:40 am) Reply \| Edit	revarnishing I confess, I revarnished my cello. My daughter put a big deep scratch across the front of it, so I stripped it, sanded out the scratch, and revarnished it. I used Homer Formby's finish remover with some steel wool. When I had it completely clean I stained it, and gave it seven coats of bare hand applied tung oil (no brush marks). Looks pretty good, and had no effect on the sound. PS: DON'T TRY THIS UNLESS YOUR CELLO IS NOT WORTH MUCH ANYWAY! If it is a valuable instrument, just leave it alone, or you will diminish it's resale value. Marshall C. St. John drcello@vei.net Cello Heaven
Br Martin Registered User (3/8/01 2:38:01 pm) Reply	Re: revarnishing I advise you to take the cello to an expert. It might be possible to "rub out" the imperfections and touch up the places where the varnish is missing, but this takes a real expert. It would be a lot less than revarnishing which should almost never be done, since it generally devalues the instrument. If it's a cheap cello, then it probably doesn't matter, but I still wouldn't use commercial finishes most of them are terrible for instrument sound and looks.
Dick500 Registered User (3/9/01 11:32:11 am) Reply	Re: Revarnishing The varnish is to be considered an integral part of the instrument and contributes in no small part to its value. There is a world of difference between revarnishing and judicious touch-up. "Homer Formby"-ing can drop the value of an instrument to considerably less than half of its former value. True also with furniture as all of you who watch Antiques Road Show regularly will remember. Crackle in the varnish shouldn't have much impact on an instrument's value. Edge chips can easily be retouched by a good repair person. The same repair person should also be able to determine if a bit of polishing done by the shop would reduce the visual impact of the crackle if it really bothers you. Also, Homer Formby on a cello wouldn't possibly sound as good as appropriate varnish put there bu the maker. That said, if the cello is already either an ash tray or a canoe, or even a vacuum cleaner, however, you don't have much to lose I guess. Just make sure that the stuff you would use is actually varnish which carries the pigments above the wood and not something else which would actually stain the wood. Once the wood is stained, and the cello permanently looks like a fugitive from an early-sixties basement rec room, and is no longer of any perceivable value, you are, as the saying goes, out of luck. Dick
Todd French Moderator (3/9/01 1:21:58 pm) Reply	Re: Revarnishing Dick is exactly right - I would only expand on his deterrance from staining in pointing out that many (most) stains actually weaken the cellular structure of spruce and can greatly increase the chance of widespread cracking. It's best to stick with varnishing or some other substance that is applied on TOP of the wood, not into it.