Making glossy oil varnish

[markishandsome]

I'm reading a book called "Classic Wood Finishing" and in the varnish section the author (forgot the name) says you can make a glossy finish by combining 90% tung or linseed oil and the rest some kind of glossy resin or something. I guess I'm just a little unclear as to what the other additive should be. Shellac?

I finished my last instrument in tung and was thrilled by how easy it went on and how it looked except it was pretty matte. I don't expect to get a real glassy nitro-esque finish using this concoction, just maybe a little shinier. Any tips or recipes? Thanks.

[Bill Snyder]

you can get glossy tung oil finish. It won't look like nitro, but it certainly is not matte. Here (http://www.shop.com/op/~30064_PT_L_GLOSS_TUNG_OIL_FNSH_6230882-prod-9144077-13877540?sourceid=298)is a gloss tung oil FINISH, not pure tung oil.

[Michael Lewis]

International Violin has some oil varnish that can be quite glossy. If you apply it heavy enough so it will level when wet it will be glossy.

[Darren Kern]

Tru-Oil gunstock finish, which is an oil varnish, can turn out very glossy. #This was my first attempt and I know that others have gotten Tru-Oil to turn out even glossier, but you should be able to tell from this pic that it's pretty shiny. #After the varnish dries, hitting it with some polish like Macguiar's makes a big difference too.

[amori]

Most of the commercial oil varnishes I have tried dry rather glossy. The IVC stuff is in fact from Hammerl in Germany. For my violins I usually have to take off some of the gloss with a rottenstone/oil mixture.

For even more gloss rub with micromesh (grades from say 1500 to 12000).

[Stephen Perry]

A tung oil & mastic varnish is extremely soft and very glossy. Polymerized tung oil only. Mastic in maximum solution in high quality turpentine. Takes a week or two, then strain. 80% turp/mastic with 20% tung oil. Takes strong UV to make it kick, cures for a few months. This is a touchy finish and I wouldn't use it on a mandolin. Doesn't like skin contact very much.

I have a tung oil mandolin and what i used on it was carnauba wax. It seemed to work great with only about 2 or 3 thin coats. And the best thing about it is that you do not have to buff it or anything. Its a slow reversible process.

[rmcdow]

I've made oil varnishes using tea tree oil as the carrier (could probably use turpentine instead, but I haven't tried it), and Canada Balsam, singapore damar, sandarac resin, spike lavender, and a little bit of tung oil. I use copals and other resins sometimes, but have had chalking after 6 months to a year, so I've looked to eliminate resins that cause chalking. I dissolve everything in the tea tree oil, apply it to the wood with a rag, let it dry, apply again, until I have a gloss finish that I like.

[sunburst]

...the rest some kind of glossy resin or something. I guess I'm just a little unclear as to what the other additive should be...?

Wow, a 5 year old resurrected topic... but since it has come up and folks might want to know, resins can be many things, natural and/or synthetic. Some have been mentioned, but the most common synthetic resins in "modern" commercial oil varnishes these days are phenolic (getting rare), alkyd, and polyurethane.

Violin oil varnishes have been made for centuries, mostly using natural resins, in different parts of the world, by different people, before communication technologies, so there are thousands of recipes, many very similar in use and many overlapping in their characteristics.