[mikethedruid]

RF, I have repaired and made violins for years. Modern instrument lacquers that come in spray cans are not suitable for violin work as they DO become too hard and brittle. No good violin has a lacquer finish, just the cheap ones. Good violins are finished with oil based varnish. I make my own from linseed oil, pure gum spirits of turpentine, pure grain alcohol, and amber, using a modification of an old recipe I found in an old violin making book that was given to me by an elderly friend, now deceased. This is why I have chosen to use tung oil varnish when restoring radios. It must be rubbed on in very thin coats by hand, coat after coat, but it remains flexible after it dries, and is very water resistant and durable. Tung oil is also an excellent varnish to use for instruments because of this. You can color these varnishes by mixing in a little artists' oil paint, using one of the CLEAR colors, not the opaque colors, so you need to read up on your artists' oil paints too. If you do color them, it will slow down the drying process. Tung oil dries fairly quickly, in a couple of days per coat. My own varnish can take a week or three depending on the weather. LOL !
[Image: https://64.media.tumblr.com/52605070d7d4...1_1280.jpg]
Two of my violins drying in the sun back at my old house in RI.