Re: Old fiddle finishes?

[Geo Kloppel <GeoK@aol.com>]

Jonathan,

>It was misssing a number of keys and one
>tuning peg, which are being fabricated.  These parts had some sort of
>black paint and varnish on them, and I would like some advice as to
>what would be a suitable finish.

>The black pigment appears to be paint, since it hasn't
>run as might be expected from stain, but it must have been quite thin
>since the grain of the underlying wood often shows thru. 


Can you remove flakes of color from the surface? ( that is, paint or varnish
chips )

You didn't mention the species of wood, so I'm a little in the dark here, but
have you considered the possibility that the original color was produced with
nitric acid? That would account for thinness and lack of running. This was
(and still is) a common treatment for violin fittings. On some woods the
result is quite black, and the burning can be done very superficially, so
that the colored surface wears through. 

Iron staining is another possibility .  I wish someone would tell me how
that's done.

Geo Kloppel    <geok@aol.com>