Spirit Varnish for a mandolin?
Just a short question. I have a pint of some nice red- brown Joha (German) spirit varnish that I bought for a project that never happened. Now I have a recently completed a mandolin and thought it might be fun to finish it with the spirit vanish.
Usually, I use clear shellac as a sealer for spruce under stains, lacquers, or even oil varnishes like Tru-Oil. But I question whether shellac would be a good sealant to use with a sprint varnish because both the sealer and the varnish are dissolved in the same solvent -- alcohol?
I have been reading about old school violin makers brushing on egg white or egg white whipped with white wine vinegar as the wood sealer and wondered if any others have tried that?
Alternatively, many violin makers also used (and still use?) a solution of mastic dissolved in alcohol to seal wood. Mastic is a resin obtained from the "mastic" trees (Pistacia lentiscus). Mastic is used for many things however, including food, so it is generally expensive ($2/gm)?
Both mastic and egg white sealants were once a common practice it the violin world so no reason it would not work as well for mandolins?
Just curious, if you use spirit varnish how so you like to seal the wood? Second do you use the same sealer for both spruce and maple?
Bernie
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Due to current budgetary restrictions the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off -- sorry about the inconvenience.
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