Just curious after surfing the web, if anyone has painted their violin. I have just purchased a relatively inexpensive all black violin at an auction. I was thinking that a good car painter could airbrush a stenciled image onto the face. Would a thin layer of paint and coating affect the performance of the violin? I have seen alot of artists with specialized violins for auction to benifit local symphonies, but I have no idea if they are "playable" after the transformation. Any thoughts?

it might lose some tone
varnish is suppose to improve the sound of violins so ur paintjob might improve or screw up ur violin lol.

it might stop the wood from making that rich tone... all depends on how its placed on and what kind of image you want i guess

No! Don`t paint it! Many experts now suspect that what made the Stradivarius and Cremona violins so good was their varnish, NOT how they were cut. It`s extremely important that you not even paint them, varnish them, or in any way mess with their finish if you want them to still sound good.