As a fiddle player, there is usually not much reason to change or upgrade your instruments. Instead, they will play an old fiddle that they have had for many years or one that is passed down to them from a family member that they can no longer play. Fiddles are very sentimental instruments that will live forever. They are cherished by players and their family members. A lot of good memories can be attached to one. One way to keep those fiddles beautiful is to consider applying a fiddle resin coating for the ultimate shine.
To Refinish or Not
There is a lot of debate about whether you should refinish an old stringed instrument or not. However, as a general rule of thumb, you should not consider it unless there is no shine at all left on it. Over time, the original finish can wear off on certain parts. This will allow it to pick up oil off your hands and dirt. This can make the fiddle look bad. You do not want to do anything that may change the way that it sounds when you play it. This does mean that you have to do it carefully.
How to Refinish a Fiddle
If you want to take it apart, you may need to send it off to a professional. If you simply want to make it look nice, you can do it without a professional if you are careful. Most all stringed instruments are coated with a varnish of some sort. Therefore, you should start by removing any of the varnish that may already be on it and take the time to wipe it down to remove any oil or dirt that may be there. After you have done that, you can put varnish back on the fiddle if you want to, but you may also want to try putting 2 part acrylic casting resin on it to give it a beautiful shine that will not go away for quite a while. The key to success is to ensure that you spread it lightly. You do not want to change how it sounds by adding too much to it.
Enjoy Your “New” Fiddle
When you have refinished your fiddle, you will be anxious to test it out. You should wait until it is completely dry. Your fiddle will be beautiful in color and maybe even look better than it did when you got it. If you have to mess with the strings, you may have to retune it. This shouldn’t be a problem since you may have changed out the strings in an effort to make it look great again. You may be surprised by how fantastic your stringed instrument will look when you are done putting just a little bit of effort into it. It can be a musical instrument that you are proud to own and even more happy to play. If your fiddle was given to you by someone, they will likely even wish that they had thought about refinishing it for themselves.