Thread: Restoration of a violin

I've just bought a rather old violin which is in need of a fair amount of restoration work (mainly because it would have been a shame to see it slowly rot away in someone's attic). Most of this work I am planning to have done professionally, however I have it on advice from a professional luthier that while it is worth restoring to basic playability, a full restoration job is likely to approach or exceed the value of the instrument. Therefore I've decided to repair the finish myself (at some stage in the past, some $#^&! has brushed a nice thick coat of varnish over the front, so anything I do can only improve its condition).
Traditionally, the favourite finish for violins seems to be shellac, however I was wondering if there are any luthiers out there who have experimented with shellawax and can recommend for or against its use?

Thanks,

Tristan