I was recently revisiting one of my earlier instruments and decided the finish was not up to snuff — it was simply too opaque and uninteresting. I decided to remove it and try again. What’s more, it felt like the right time to have another go at aging a finish. Here’s a gallery of some before and after images and then a few more shots of the refinished violin. It’s my Stradivari model and is currently available for audition. The tone needed no “refinishing”. It’s a responsive and tonally rich violin – end to end.