Linseed oil & violins

February 21, 2008 at 07:08 PM · I think it's a really bad idea. Linseed oil never really hardens, even when it is fully cured, since room temperature is above its glass transition point. It continues to collect dust and grime forever, and it darkens severely with age. Furthermore, it tends to soak into wood, which most violin makers try to avoid like the plague. Conservators consider it verboten.

I don't use much of anything on mine, just wipe it down every day. When customers want their instruments cleaned and polished, I use a little water and very gentle solvents as needed, and a very mild polish just to bring up a gloss.

February 21, 2008 at 11:24 PM · Greetings,

its a terrible idea as is using any other kind of oil. It is even a good idea to avoid using any kind of cleaner at all. Get a proper cleaning clotyh from a reputable maker and then have your luthier clean the violin on a fairly regualr basis.

Of commefcial violin cleaners Kolstein is one of the best but you must keep the amount you apply to an absolute minimu and only clean one small area of the violin at a time and wuipe it off imeddiately. Some people make the mistake of slathering the whole instrument and then wipuingit off. Very harmful in the long run.

Less is always more with violin cleaners.

Cheers,

Buri

February 22, 2008 at 08:08 AM · Joshua, I would say "inconspicuous areas which do not affect the violin's sound much."

February 22, 2008 at 01:51 PM · Luis, I am a violin maker and I think it is a terrible idea. The varnish used on a violin is something that the maker has spent a great deal of time and frustration trying to develop. Adding Linseed oil is like adding another coat of varnish to a certain degree. It can certainly alter the sound of your instrument. The best way to protect the finish is to wipe it off with a soft cloth before you place it back in the case after each session. Of course this is just my opinion but I would strongly discourage anyone who ask my opinion and certainly anyone who plays one of my violins.

February 22, 2008 at 03:30 PM · The cleaning cloths Buri mentioned work very well; at least the ones that we have do. I just use a dry cotton cloth on my own instrument, but the cleaning cloths work very well on instruments where a little grime has been allowed to accumulate.

February 27, 2008 at 04:59 PM · Thank you, all of you for your input. It has been most helpful :-)

February 27, 2008 at 10:52 PM · A micro fiber cloth work even better! Like the one made by 3M as well as many others manufacturer has produced. No any type of solvent are required if you clean you violin in daily practice.

This is very important also to stay away from the cleaner which contain silicone. This is a disaster in long term for your violin and restorer as well.

February 28, 2008 at 02:00 PM · Almond oil

February 28, 2008 at 04:06 PM · Almond oil must be avoided too, for the same reasons given for linseed oil.

Another problem of oils and commercal polishes and cleaners is that oil will penetrate in the joints, little cracks, exposed wood, purfling joints (we have 5 joints in the purfling region: table/black strip/white strip/black strip/table) and that's quite a bad thing for restoration work, since oiled surfaces will not glue well.