Ageing the bridge

I decided the shiny new metal and maple bridge looked a little incongruent with the rest of the instrument.

To make it match it was going to need ageing a little. After removing it I gave the slots a quick sand with some 2000 grit paper to reduce any burr or unevenness in them that could make the strings rattle then applied some Dijon Mustard to the metal surface and gave it 3 or 4 hours before wiping it off leaving a very mild patina.

The wood  being maple is low in tannins and so difficult to age. I added some black tea and ground coffee to distilled vinegar and heated it a few times in the microwave to speed up the stewing to make a stain.

Using a bit of cotton wool I applied it to the maple, let it dry then reapplied it twice again. As expected this uniformly darkened the wood considerably. However I wanted to see the grain better. Once it was finally dry I added some Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda) to water forming a strong thick solution and painted that over the wooden part of the bridge.

To control the drying and timing precisely I sat it on a windowsill and went to do some work on the allotment. When I rolled back again it was dry and I used a dry toothbrush to remove the bicarbonate of soda that was crusted onto it then sanded it with 2000 grit sandpaper.

The staining and sanding brought out the grain and, I feel, makes it look more natural than it did initially with it's light colour of the wood with it's horizontal banding making it looked like a piece of plywood. I think it also matches the age of the instrument far better too.