#31
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Not once did Eastman mention shellac, only varnish.
It's also a big secret; "The fact that they won’t share their top secret process with us only adds to the mystique! " Varnish may refer to a violin-like varnish. "French polish" may refer to the padding process of application. It sounds like marketing-speak to me. I'd bet it's not "French polished shellac". It's too labor intensive for that price range. |
#32
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Maybe it is shellac. However, it must be brushed or something else done to dull it a bit. I have used shellac before and it always came out hard and shiny.
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#33
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Quote:
I think of French polish as lac flakes dissolved in alcohol applied with a pad. Pumice for grain fill, oil for smooth application. However, it can also be a layer of French polished shellac applied over varnish base coat. That seems to be a method used on some violins. I guess varnish takes long enough to cure hard enough to be buffed so French polish gives a nice final finish look. At that point I think it would be purely cosmetic. hunter |
#34
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After I wrote that I didn't know New Jersey had any poets, Monsoon wrote:
I was wondering how long it would take for someone to mention Bruce Springsteen! Seriously, guys, it was a joke, me playing off the stereotype that leads to jokes like: "I'm from New Jersey." "Oh, yeah? Which exit?" But I've never doubted for an instant that New Jersey is jam-packed with poets, many of whom are good-looking, as well. Then K Russell wrote: Quote:
K Russell did mention: Quote:
Joyce Kilmer He was killed in combat in France during World War One. It's an easy mistake to make, though: in our lifetimes the name Joyce has become an overwhelmingly female name. But it's one of those names like Marion and Ashley that were once predominantly given to male babies, then both male and female, finally evolving into an almost exclusively female name. Anyway, I think we've established once and for all that New Jersey not only HAS poets, some of them have died in combat and have rest areas named after them. Wade Hampton Miller |
#35
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Appreciate the correction Wade. I should know the story of Joyce Killer. Age plays tricks on the memory.
My wife just reminded me that I have made that error before. She is the NJ native. Last edited by k_russell; 12-13-2018 at 07:46 AM. |
#36
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Pura Vida:
OK; I looked in on their site. Lots of marketing speak and some 'guitar finishing porn' shots. Evidently they're using some sort of wiped shading with dye or color on the wood, and then a shellac based finish over that. All of this is far from 'secret' stuff: I've seen articles covering the whole technique in 'American Lutherie' magazine, and it's pretty common in the world of archtop guitars and mandolins. Violin makers commonly refer to all of the more-or-less clear finishes that they use as 'varnish'. The ones that are solvent based (generally largely shellac dissolved in alcohol, but with lots of variations) are called 'spirit varnishes'. 'Oil varnishes' are usually the cooked oil-resin formulas that harden by chemical curing rather than solvent evaporation. Again, there are lots of different formulas. Several years (well, decades...) ago there was a fellow who wrote a directory of American violin makers. He sent out questionaires, and also interviewed some makers in person. One of my friends got interviewed. At one point, the fellow asked him what varnish he used, but indicated that he need not go into any detail. My friend told him the brand he bought, and the fellow checked the box for 'commercial varnish' and chuckled. When he'd finished with the interview he explained the chuckle. He said that many makers would answer that the varnish was their own secret recipe, and he would simply check off 'makes own varnish'. By the time he'd finished the makers, realizing that he was not going to disclose the secret, would often tell him what the recipe was. He said it was always the same recipe (but he didn't say what it was!). All the makers get the basic ideas and ingredients for their varnish from their teachers, who got it from their teacher, and so on. They start with pretty much the same ingredients, and adjust the proportions and process until they get something that works. There are only so many ways you can do it and end up with a satisfactory coating, and they can end up in pretty much the same place if they started out with similar ingredients. It's their 'secret', since they worked it out for themselves, and since nobody will share they don't know they're all doing the same thing. If you want to spend an entertaining and lively few minutes, go to a traditional violin maker's meeting, and quietly say the word 'varnish'. Within a few minutes I think they'll be breaking chairs over each other's heads. It is often seen as the key to the 'secret' of Stradivari, and since there are no records of what he did, or any way of finding out for sure, everybody has their own dogma that cannot be denied. There are the 'churches' of 'Oil' and 'Spirit' which end up in different places, of course, but aside from that basic difference they won't say much. Since the finishers at Godin are apparently coming in from that side of the craft, about all you'll ever get from them is mystery: it's their stock in trade. |
#37
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Now I have a question. Once French polish crosses, say into England, does it become English polish? |
#38
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whm |
#39
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Sean Connery trained as a French polisher before he became an actor, but he's still a Scot.
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