Products for Instrument Makers

The priming of a violin serves to protect the wood from external influences and prevents dirt particles from penetrating the structure. The primer therefore has a separating function at the same time, as it separates wood and varnish from each other. For many years, research has been conducted on the primer of violins from the time of Stradivari and Guarneri. Some analyses come close to a mixture of different minerals, which seem to sit on the surface of the wood bound with water glass. An important property of the primer is its insolubility in water. If a violin comes into contact with water later (e.g. cleaning or air humidity), the primer may dissolve and the overlying layer of varnish may come off.

> Products for Violin Makers

 

David Rubio, in conjunction with various research institutes, has developed a mixture that bears a certain similarity to the historical primers. This mixture consists of calcium lactate, alum, manganese sulfate, titanium white, iron oxide yellow and mica, which are mixed with water to a thin paste. The dry wood is soaked with a solution of potassium water glass in water.

Immediately afterwards the mineral pulp is applied in a thin layer. This yellowish mass is then wiped over again with potassium silicate solution. Then the primer must dry.

We introduce a base coat produced according to an alchemistic recipe from the High Renaissance. Brown stained sculptures, wood carving and the violins from the Cremonese masters exist since the late-Gothic. Until today the characteristics of this base coat have been unknown. We have combined the best of natural resources to gain the curiously hardness and colorfulness of this secret base coat. The wood from maple and fir gets stony-hardened and amber-colored. Due to the base coat the wood loses its absorption and the sound gets precise and sustainable.

Application: The wood needs to be polished multiple times as usual. The base coat is applied evenly inside and outside with a soft brush or a sponge. After a few minutes the outside surplus should be removed with a cloth. The process should be repeated outside up to three times. The consumption is about 100 gram per violin. Varnish after the last polish with spirit or oil varnish.

In the past, turpentine oil was distilled in the presence of air. The resulting residues can form peroxides, which are very dangerous. For safety reasons, this process is no longer used today. A similarly dangerous substance is produced when air is passed through hot turpentine oil. Kremer Pigmente therefore manufactures a similar product from raw rosin and turpentine oil.

The raw rosin is boiled and then dissolved in turpentine oil. Turpentine rosin oil is available in three different concentrations (thick, medium, thin).

Linseed oil, poppy seed oil and walnut oil will harden when exposed to oxygen. If these low viscosity drying oils are applied thinly onto wood, they penetrate the structure and make the surface less sensitive to water. The inner surfaces of woodwind instruments can be saturated with e.g. walnut oil, thus considerably extending the playability of flutes.

First oil coats on external surfaces will wear off quickly. The final, excellent, durability is achieved by re-applying multiple coats. Until the Renaissance period, this wood treatment was the standard for wooden furniture and wooden instruments.

The idea of combining the good properties of the drying oils with the strength of resins was obvious, but difficult. Natural resins cannot simply be mixed with oil. If, for example, colophony is heated for a longer period of time, its properties change. The rosin becomes more brittle and loses much of its stickiness. This boiled liquid rosin can be mixed with hot linseed oil. The addition of turpentine oil prevents the cooked mix of oil and resin from solidifying (due to the risk of fire, only carry out in outdoor areas). The colophony required for this can be obtained from all kinds of coniferous wood balsams and also from amber. If the drying oil is first saponified, then the mixture is called soap lacquer.

As a protection against bacteria and insects, many plants can form resins and balms, which are released when the bark is damaged or when the plant is in ill health. Resins such as sandarac, mastic, conifer - balms such as larch turpentine, canada balsam etc. have "always" been used in medicine for wound treatment because of their antibacterial effect. Even in the 1960s, larger injuries were still covered with mastic bandages. In the English-speaking world, mastic means not only the resin of the mastic bush, but also adhesive putty. Sticky balm is extracted from many coniferous trees. When the balsam is heated, turpentine oil is obtained as a volatile component and colophony as a solid residue. Dissolutions of mastic and sandarac in ethyl alcohol (spirit of wine) are used for lacquer-like coating. Mixtures of drying oils with resins and balsams will increase the durability.

Protein components like casein can be fully seperated from skimmed milk. Casein glue is obtained by dissolving casein with alkalis. If casein is dissolved with lime, the result is a fairly water-resistant lime-casein glue. From skin, nerves, bones and many other animal components of cattle, pigs and also fish, one can obtain the usual glues, which are mostly named after their raw material. The harder the glue, the stronger the bond. The more elastic, the lower the adhesive strength. A good compromise is good bovine skin glue or fish glue which are both elastic and strong. These protein glues are mostly used to glue the individual pieces of an instrument. Casein glues are also used for surface design, especially on leather. Salianski isinglass glue is especially suitable for bows.

From about the 12th century onwards shellac is available in pharmacies. This resin from the metabolic residues of the shellac lice in India can be dissolved with more or less anhydrous ethyl alcohol and forms wood varnishes which are very durable. After the discovery of the sea route around Africa by the Portuguese at the end of the 15th century, quantities rose significantly. This new trade route also allowed the transport of spices, incense resins and new colorants from South and East Asia. Gum Benzoin from Siam or Sumatra and Dammar from the areas of today's Indonesia also played an important role. Gambodge from Cambodia, dragon's blood from Sumatra, and a large variety of colored woods and other coloring materials make modern times more colorful than the times before.

Madder lake is one of the oldest known pigments and was already used more than 3,000 years ago. It is traditionally made from the root of the madder plant Rubia tinctoria. For this purpose the madder roots are dried and ground. Afterwards the dyes are precipitated with salts. Lakes vary in shades of orange, violet, brown, pink and dark red, depending on which coloring components are isolated. In contrast to most other vegetable dyes, madder lake was highly valued not only by dyers but also by painters. Compared to other natural lakes, the light fastness of madder lake is relatively good, since the alizarin it contains is quite stable. Other dye components, such as pseudopurpurin, are less resistant. Madder lake is a typical glaze pigment and can be used in oil and water colors.

Today, alizarin is almost exclusively produced synthetically. In 1868 the chemists Graebe and Liebermann succeeded in synthesizing alizarin, which is the lightfast component of alizarin madder lake. Alizarin was the first natural dye ever to be produced synthetically. The durability of these modern, artificially produced pigments can be classified as very good with a light fastness of 6-8.

Whether of natural or synthetic origin, alizarin madder lake was far superior to all other organic dyes at the time (although dyes such as carmine, for example, were considerably more brilliant). Even today, madder lake is still often referred to as the ideal "cold" red. Both the old natural product and modern alizarin madder lake are completely non-toxic.

Kremer Pigmente oil varnishes are lightfast, translucent and suitable for wood surfaces and musical instruments.

They are handmade in the Color-Mill in Aichstetten.

The cooked resin oil varnishes come in 6 different colors and are ready to use.