How to clean your instrument and Olaf French polishes a violin
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 เม.ย. 2020
- Master violin maker Olaf Grawert explains how to keep your instrument clean without damaging the varnish. During the video he French Polishes a violin and explains about the many different types of varnish there are.
Website:
olafgrawertviolinstudio.com/
Social:
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Very satisfying video 😊 Olaf also cleanses my mind lol
Us dropping violins : "Oh no, that's gonna cost me an arm and a leg to repair"
Olaf dropping violins : "At least i'm in a violin shop and i can repair it"
Every violin player should watch this.
Yep
Yes
_violinist.
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Every violin teacher too.
OMG Olaf has his own channel, all is well in the world again!
I’ve never cleaned my bow ...... the things you find out
I should probably start cleaning my bow...😬
I’m a classical singer that just bought a new classical guitar and I can’t get enough of your technical information! Thanks so much for dropping invaluable knowledge on the daily 🙏🏾
I’m a guitarist as well, although I did take violin lessons in Jr. High back in 1971 I believe it was. I watch (@ thoroughly enjoy) Olaf because where else can you learn more about a wooden stringed instrument, than from a master violin maker. The violin shop I could ride my bike to in Dallas TX where I grew up, has long been closed.
What brand is your guitar ?? I have a Ramirez 1971 1A so I'm curious as to the new guitars that are coming out now.
I love when you put varnish on. It is just so satisfying. When the luthier in the movie The Red Violin put on the red varnish on the violin it just looked so beautiful and satisfying.
I was going to ask Olaf whether he's seen this movie :)
OLAF IS TRUE LING LING
frenchpolish a German violin....sacrilegious
Haha... German polish a French violin?
Ask Olaf the Violinmaker I believe for at least a period of time the Germans did that and very nearly permanently during WWII🤪
Sacrilegious lol
This is both so informative and therapeutic to watch! There's something about violin polishing that seems so calming 😊
Super cool, I'm a cellist and have always wondered about varnish and cleaning details. Not so easy to find so this has been such a great video! Thank you!
Me : sitting enjoying a relaxing video. *weird noises* What the heck are those sounds? is someone getting murdered?
Olaf: "got to enjoy Australian bird sounds"
I recognised it instantly myself, but that is because I’m Australian as well as Olaf
you should make an special episode fixing TwoSet's Violins.
Leandro Giacomazzi lol ya, I think in part of one of Twosets video, they went over to Olaf and they mentioned that Olaf was repairing Violin Chan
Dear Olaf, I have a huge problem with you! The problem is that you are living in Austraila, not my city :/ (Prague, Czech republic). I absolutely love your videos, and your real passion for instruments and music. It is so inspiring, we need more people like you. I can se how deeply you love your job and the instruments by every second of any video. Thank you so much for everything!
Thank you for your feedback...
I absolutely love Prague... I haven't been back for too long.
I'm sure there are some passionate violin makers in your area... Bohemia has been a great centre of violin making for many years.
@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker Yes they are, fortunately. That is great, I also love our city, living whole life here. I just love your content and approach :). I am visiting Ivan Švýcarský, and there is also workshop of Vávra family (I think his son took over right now). And there are more in Prague. My wife has violin he made. I own less professional instrument made by Carl Hammerschmidt from Wakkenreuth around 1918, not high level instrument but I love it! It has nice crafted scroll with ornaments and deep sound.
First time ever knowing how to properly clean my violin THANKS!
Then could you make a video on how students can clean their violins in a simple way if they don't have access to a luthier?
Nice touch with the AC/DC.
So informative and easy to understand. You're a joy to listen to.
Thanks for the vid Olaf!
Thanks helpful video...one of the things I really miss about my childhood in Australia is the magpies singing in the early morning...nice to hear!
This is so helpful!!! Ive never cleaned my bow, ill remember to do that now 😂😂 thank you!!! ❤️
I recently French polished my double bass... It came out really good.
Thank you so much for these very informative videos!
Ty Olaf, you are a legend
Fascinating stuff!
LOVE.. LOVE.. LOVE you Videos Olof
Olaf, thank you. You're like the Baymax of violins
French polishing is like regular polishing, but with tongue.
Lol
Thanks for this video, when one begins to play the violin, one does not know how to take care of them and commit sacrileges. Fortunately, my violin is one of the cheap Chinese because once I moistened a kitchen towel with a little alcohol and used it to remove the rosin that accumulates in the area of the bridge haha
I like the descending escalator trick.... by the way I do clean my strings with alhohol... sweat is corrosive, and I find cleaning them with alcohol doubles their lifespan from 6 months to a year. I have never split a drop on my varnish in 30 years+ ... but I just dampen a piece of kitchen paper with alcohol and make sure I am careful to only touch the string with it... but you're right.. a drop of alcohol on the varnish would be fatal for it.... thanks for the brilliant clips
You said that you know the varnish that Strativarius used. Could you make a video about that?
Was that AC/DC on the violin?
Awesome video! I’ve got a violin with a shiny black finish , how should I clean it without scratching it with the rosin powder?
Thank you som much for this Olaf! I have a question - is it important to use a microfiber cloth or is cotton ok?
Cotton is fine... I just think that some of the suede microfibre cloths work really well for taking off dust
Inspired me to get a pack of prettier microfiber cloths. Hopefully it will encourage my daughter to clean hers even when I don’t remind her lol
Hi Olaf, I have watched several of your videos, thanks very helpful. I bought an old violin, the person that repaired in 1980 used epoxy wit fabric glass on top of the inside of violin, big mistake, it lost the sound. how can I removed that layer without damage the violin?
Was he playing thunderstruck at the beginning of the video?
You earned my sub
How long does the cleaning process usually takes? I live outside Australia and it might be a good agenda to visit and gives my violin a clean if I will visit brisbane,since its hard to find luthier locally in my area
Hello Olaf, thanks for this Video, it helps me a lot, but when should I use Viol? Should I use it at all? Thanks a lot
Good to know
Hi Olaf!
My luthier told me to clean the strings with a small amount of alcohol once in a while to remove the rosin build-up, but to be very careful not to touch anything else on my cello with it.
Many thanks, Mr. Olaf!
I think I have to contact my seller teacher for the new Zhongruan that I just get around 2 months!
It's indeed a really beautiful instrument just recently made in Beijing back in year 2020 using heavy densed reddish beautiful rosewood =O
But since it's no brand, so there is totally no label at all and I do not know who's the Zhongruan maker but it sounds really good surprisingly, better than the community class lending one which is a much branded Zhongruan! (maybe it was abused... or a lower grade instrument for beginner to intermediate... or my playing skills sucks hahaha XD hard to say hmmm)
But the varnish it's like embossed type of feeling touch...???????? (feels like an embossed type of plastic book wrapper but much smoother and finer grainy feel)
What possible type of varnish the luthier used?
Hmmm
Does cleaning and polishing change the sound even the tiniest bit?
Which polishes do you think are the best. (Can you sort them from good to bad?)
I don't have a relationship with a luthier in my area. Are there any questions you would ask a luthier to make sure they know what they're doing before I have them service my expensive instrument?
can you line-x your violin to protect it? will it work? or will change the sound?
Useful vid as always. I clean under the strings as well. You didn't mention that, Olaf! Assume this is ok!
Why does everyone tells something else? By my former teacher told me, just like you did, that you should never touch your bow hair, but in Orchestra rehearsal I often see players checking the tightness of their hair by pressing it with their fingers against the stick.
My current teacher tells me that I should clean my stings with alcohol, but never touch the varnish. You say on the other hand that you shouldn't use alcohol at all.
How can it be that there is so much information out there, and whose advice should I follow?
Most of the information out there is from people saying what they personally like to do, not teachers or luthiers intimately familiar with the instrument who I would trust.
Never touch your bow hair though. That's a no-go. To be safe about varnish, only luthiers should handle it, and to be honest, you won't get fingerprint marks on the body of your instrument unless you're touching it more than necessary. For cleaning the fingerboard and strings, things get muddy though. Olaf says no alcohol, which makes sense to me because I don't want to put something so chemically strong on my instrument. As an alternative to that, many string players use a light amount of lemon oil applied to a cloth. And some are completely against it. That's what I use though and it serves me well, it takes off the gunk, smells good, and in such a small amount I don't think it's bad for the instrument but I could be wrong. The other thing about this kind of cleaning is that it isn't frequent. The best way to keep and *maintain* the violins hygiene is to use a small microfiber cloth to wipe down your instrument after each and every time you practice. That way you'll likely never need a deep clean and the instrument will feel good, sound good, and look good.
Trust the luthiers, DON'T touch your bow hair no matter what anyone else does, and research can be your best friend (but don't blindly trust a bias of course). Sorry this was so long haha but I hope maybe you can decide what to do now :)
Trust Luthiers, which includes Mr. Olaf
Makes no sense to check the tightness by pressing hair. Why not just press hair on the string? Some players have weird habits I guess.
Olaf, thanks for the great video as always! Many sources state that one should not clean the body of the instrument with the same cleaning cloth used to clean the rosin off the strings. You don't seem to follow this convention in the video and I'm just curious as to why you are not concerned about using the same cloth. It would make my life easier if I didn't have to carry around two cleaning cloths (I know, big ask, right?), but just want to make sure I'm not being irresponsible before I change tactics. Thanks in advance.
Hi. Can I get your feed back and opinion on a StringWorks violin ? I found one at a Goodwill for $9.00 dls. Its in perfect shape and still has the books. Thanks
Hi olaf, you say to never use alchohol to clean a violin, but a few weeks ago my high schools orchestra had some members of the NZSO came in to workshop us, and one of the violinists gave all the string players in the orchestra one of those isopropyl alcohol wipes each and told us that if our strings were really 'gunky' with rosin and the likes, that we should put a cleaning cloth below the strings and clean them with said wipe. They demonstrated on one of the school hire violins, and a lot of brown gunk came off and apparently it worked? How should I treat this information? For now I'll follow your advice and just clean my instrument every day with just a cloth...
Hi Olaf, would you try fix a classical guitar?
How often should the cleaning cloth be washed or replaced? Can any other cloth other than microfiber be used?
Does the finish make a big difference in sound ? I just bought a violin from a huge Goodwill store. It is totally scratched up like its been through a war. The store said "Decent used condition with scuffs and scratches but no cracks or seam separation. Scroll intact. Tuners, fingerboard, tailpiece, bridge, nut in working condition. Sound post is set. Includes 29" unmarked bow and case". Another violin they sold was an Antonio Loveri W Tonk that sold for 1300 US dollars. I paid $91 for my daughter's present. It has to sound better than her really cheap beginner.
hey olaf, i got a somewhat strange question. i got a beginners instrument. its solid, sounds fine, but the finish is a thicc layer of clear coat. have you ever considered "refinishing" a cheap violin? i really would like to have it less glossy and more of that varnish-style finish, but i guess its not going to happen if i just try to get rid of the clear coat :D
If it's a plywood... it'll likely cost you more than the cost of the VSO.
Hi Olaf,
I am not sure if you can see this - I am completed new to the violin and used alcohol prep wipe and wiped the fingerboard and chinrest. The wipe clothes turned black and I realized that it would be a bad idea. Should I send the violin to a shop to resurface? I am really nervous now ...
Thank you...
Hi Olaf! Is it safe to clean the strings with lighter fluid? Or is it just a myth?
When you say not to use alcohol on your strings, is it just because of the risk of getting alcohol on the body of the violin or because it damages the strings? I use Gatchel Argenta Amber Premium Rosin, and it seems to me near impossible to get it off the strings with a dry cloth, which is why I put just one or two drops of alcohol on the cloth, making about a centimeter sized spot of alcohol on the cloth. This takes the rosin right off. Are you familiar with this rosin? It is advertised as lasting longer than most rosin, so that you don't have to apply it as much.
You mentioned we should never use alcohol on our violin, not even the strings, but does that include denatured alcohol? Another violin youtuber mentioned that you should use denatured alcohol to clean the hairs of the bow. What are you thoughts on this?
Also, what kind of Australian birds are they?
sorry I have no idea about alcohol on strings or hair, but the bird that I could hear at around 5:21 in the video was an Australian magpie! (possibly chatting to some other birds, I can't hear any clearly though)
Best
Hi, Olaf what would you advice about getting a fair professional violin for a student player in Kenya. I am looking to up gread from a Karl willhelm model 22.
Hi Kraft,
Maybe pm me at @theviolinstudiobrisbane
On Facebook or email... that way I can ask more exact questions that can help you better.
I have a cello with varnish that comes off with water. It is very annoying if I have an outside wedding gig. If I get even one small sprinkle on it the varnish it wipes of to the wood.
French polishing has kind of a misleading name as it is not polishing, like you might think of, with wax on a hard surface, or smoothing a surface with very fine abrasives, but is the applying of a thin new layer of varnish. Traditional French polish is made of shellac dissolved in denatured alcohol, with a bit of oil (like olive oil, for example). The alcohol causes the existing layer of varnish to soften or dissolve a little bit as the new layer is applied. Traditionally, a pad of very different type is used than what Olaf used in the video. French polishing can be used as a finishing method on raw wood. It can produce a very smooth high gloss finish, but it requires a lot of layers for the final result and is thus a lot of work. Shellac is secreted by lac bugs as they move around on tree branches, making tubes through which they live and move.
When should someone get a violin re varnished?
Olaf, i want to ask, if the alcohol you mentioned is ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, or just any hidrocarbon fluids in general (like lighter fluid, etc.)
I use methylated spirit's...
@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker Thank you for the fast response, Olaf. As i re-read my question, i realized it is a bit vague. I wanted to refer to the 12:00 where you mentioned to not use alcohol, especially on a more expensive violins. I meant to ask, if any other substance i mentioned would react badly with the violin.
Hello Mr. Olaf. What would happen if I got some rubbing alcohol on my violin? Is that harmful in some way?
Aluminium wound string may leave a mark on the fingerboard due to perspiration. It leaves a trace of silvery colour on the fingerboard. How do I clean it?
Is there experience out there among the experts removing all the old varnish with a varnish dissolvent down to the bare wood and revarnishing it newly?
I think a lot of luthiers would hate that idea.
Like generally the approach is to preserve as much of the original instrument as possible. Including the varnish.
By The Way i have a friend thats also a luthier,his violins have this varnish called soil varnish,makes the violin look really dark
I'm searching for a safe method to clean my fingerboard, there is kind of a greyish layer that has formed on the surface only in the areas where I do not play, I feel like it has a hard but still waxy consistency and rubbing with a cloth works but not fully
Even before watching this video I knew that the following was a disaster that had just happened. My young nephew took it upon himself to clean my violin after I let him have a go at it ( he's normally very fastidious and on the ball) as he wanted to see and feel the instrument and how he responded to it. When I got it back after telling him just to clean the strings, fingerboard etc with a clean cloth and I'd do the rest. Thinking he was helping he used a furniiture polish and he used a fair bit. It's only a, was a $3500 -$5000 australian dollar violin and while it's not entirely ruined she's never sounded the same, Ahhh. Oh well we live and learn and he didn't clean the bow. Such is life in the violin world. No point crying over it, eh ??
If I've a high quality violin with polymer varnish, would it be worth re-varnishing it?
Hi Zander,
It sounds like a difficult project. Removing polymer varnish is no easy feat. I would talk to a local luthier about the instrument. I think I would have to see the instrument to comment. You can always contact me on my website or facebook/instagram.
while ago i decided to varnish my old Italian violin, and I used wrong product, believe it or not i used material that is used for hard wood :(
My violin looks so beautiful but I think wrong product effect the sound... i am wondering now how to remove that varnish, should i sand it off and varnish the violin all over again, or there is any chemical product that can help me to remove it... appreciate a reply
Mike
Please... go see a violin maker and see if the violin can still be saved.
Sanding it off will seriously devalue it even more.
how can I keep my violin long enough
dry?
Does this mean I can't take my violin outside if I buy one? Cause Corona doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. So no disinfection, no taking it outside then.
Hey Olaf, can you recommend any books on the violin? I'd love to learn more about it other than "this is called the frog and this is the string G" but actually what makes up the quality of a violin, maybe some history and so on. Really nerdy geeky violin stuff if you know what I mean
Greetings from Germany, stay safe
These days you can download the Lüdgendorff book for free...
There's a lot about the history of violinmaking.
It's in German:
archive.org/details/diegeigenundlaut02lt
@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker Thank you so much!!
"A French Polish" sounds like something you would ask to a dominatrix
10:50 "finer than 1000 grain sandpaper" , what sort of grain was it? 2800 or perhaps micro-mesh? I believe micro-mesh boast having 10000 grain but that would almost just feel like a cloth that would do nothing other than rub a surface just in the way a fine linen cloth would!
Is there anyway to darken the finish?
That has to do with the varnish colour. To me the varnish of instruments is sacred, so I try to preserve as much of the original as possible.
Never use alcohol? Never never, not even on strings? Ops.... sorry cello
Aiii
Ooof
How often do we need to wash the cloth that we use to wipe the violin?
Probably once every 1 to 2 months
@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker Thanks for replying!
All good violins should be suitable for dishwasher cleaning.
4 fine tuner twoset viloin probably feigth off :D
I’ve heard that some people don’t like French polishing antique instruments. Why is that? What do they do instead to clean?
On some precious old instruments they use a different system using a type of wax to protect the original varnish
varnish= definition shiny stuff. translation = shellac with a colorant
I have difficulty believing that water could dissolve oil based varnishes. The chemistry of that doesn't make sense.
Can you explain that in more detail?
Because the varnish on violins is never truly dry.
@@AtticusStount That's only true if you're using linseed oil (yay for a drying half-life measured in decades). Violin varnishes are a mix of oil and resins, and while they may not be chemically dry, they're still not water soluble.
Your answer needs more science.
UH OH, at about 10:23 into video you accidentally touched the bow hair. I am guessing that the oils from our fingers probably cause the rosin to gunk up? or does the oils break down the hairs?
The skin is naturally slightly oily, so touching the hair would cause the bow to no longer work in that spot, because it would slip instead of gripping the string with the rosin.
I usually curl my fingers around the hair to pick up the stick... it may have been the edit... but if I did touch the hair, I really shouldn't have...
Luckily I know someone who can fix the problem 😄
What if my violin repairman told me to use spirit on the strings to clean them? :D
Have you ever heard of Charles Résuche?
I have a violin made by him from the late 1800s. It needs work.
How any violins do you sell a year on average, how many do you make?
Hi Kevin,
It is different every year.
I am pretty busy with repairs and restoration, so recently I have only been able to make about 1 instrument per year.
I do have lots of other instruments in my shop from beginner to professional. I try to support players at every level with the best possible quality in their price range.
J'y passerai un coup de polish à l'occasion
How to get rid of spiders inside my violin ?
My luthier friends always say that the best polish is the one you don't use.
He sounds like a wise man 🙂
@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker If you can convince folks to use a soft cloth on your instrument every time, also the underside of the bow. You don't usually have problems.
I used wisk furniture spray.....was told= don't do that!
French polish uses Shellack and that uses alcohol to dilute it. Shellac is no varnish!
3 years to learn French polish. The guy in the wig can do it in two.
what do you think of the recent scientific studies that suggest that the best varnish for violins is regular hardwarestore spar varnish? the kind people use on their decks and outdoor furniture? they stongly indicate that the varnishes concocted by violin makers are a con
they also suggest that the varnish used by the old italian masters was nothing more than the marine spar varnish of their day
I am ashamed to ask, but what if I have never cleaned my violin? Is it possible to leave it to a luthier for a complete cleaning, like a restart? If so, how much would it probably cost? 50$? 100$? More?
Hi Samlaren,
All good... I can keep a secret ;)
Yes, if the instrument has some built up rosin and dirt, it would probably need a professional clean and polish. Here in Australia that would be between AU$100 and $220 for a clean and french polish.
It does really depend on the kind of instrument and varnish you have.
I am talking about an intermediate to higher level instrument. For beginner Instruments it is closer to $50 to $100
@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker Thank you Olaf, I'll see to that I'll get an appointment here in Sweden as soon as I can :)
Ask Olaf the Violinmaker Oh I am so glad! Been putting it off since literally the violin was made. I will do that as soon as it is safe to go outside so I can support my local luthiers. Ed Maday, Kolstein and Son, and Long Island Violin Shop (Charles Rufino).