A California luthier's two-year quest to perfect his varnish
formula coincided with a spiritual self-examination. David Morse,
who has made instruments for players in the San Francisco Symphony,
and a violin for the orchestra's conductor laureate Herbert
Blomstedt, hit upon a new formula involving burnt sugar after two
years of intensive experimentation. Working with a guru in the same
period apparently unlocked a kind of spiritual energy that helped
him make his breakthrough.
Morse had previously used propolis as an ingredient, but was
frustrated with the time that his varnish took to apply and fully
dry. By dissolving sugar and pigment in water, then combining it
with the oil varnish base, he found that the varnish could be
applied more easily and quickly.
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