"Ebonizing" Rosewood Fret Board (Pics)

[Moondog]

The light rosewood fingerboard on one of my black StingRays was bugging me so I ordered the ebony dye from StewMac and went light with it to darken it a bit; great product: came out perfect / much better - hardest part was taping board, nut, and headstock off . . .

Before:

After:

 

[MadMatt]

Looks good with the black pick guard. Did the stain bleed under the tape?

-Matt

 

[Moondog]

No; I used Blue painters tape & it worked perfectly - no bleed-through.

I prepped the board using Naptha; the dye penetrates the wood QUICKLY and wipes of the frets easily. The fret markers will darken but afterwards I used a pecil-top eraser to brighten them back up (small circular motion).

To check robustness of the application I tried to remove some of the dye from a fretboard area and it will not come off without significant sanding/scraping (penetrates deep) so I suspect my light application will last a very, very long time . . .

 

[five7]

Does any come off when you play?

 

[Duarte]

Looks great. I really like a dark rosewood board.

 

[Moondog]

Does any come off when you play?

Not at all! not even with wet sweaty hands . . .

Using a small soft cloth, I applied the dye and quickly dried it off. I did 2 quick applications to get the darkness I wanted. I dried it thoroughly and let it sit for a couple hours before applying some fretboard conditioner.

Not a reversable process . . .

http://www.stewmac.com/shopby/product/4236

 

[danny-79]

Looks really good , nice one

 

[DJBenzBass]

That looks great! Fingerboard is nice and dark, and the black pickguard is also a great match. Looks like a Shiny Stealth now.

 

[silverburst]

I think it looks cool. The Stew Mac website and repair hints are awesome.

 

[five7]

Looks great. I really like a dark rosewood board.

Yes, the before and after are quite dramatic. The after looks very good!

 

[pwayboy]

I would like to lighten my rosewood fretboard. The previous owner used fretboard "conditioner" which gave it a dark, oily look.

 

[shakinbacon]

I think that came out great, however the original rosewood was fine by me too.

This may not apply to anyone but me, but I find when I focus on cosmetic issues on my instruments its a reminder for me to practice scales

 

[AnthonyD]

Looks great - thanks for posting this. I love the look of an ebony board.


Hmmmm....

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Great idea Ken. The Black pg goes well with it also

 

[keko]

Well, that was interesting!

Now Your bass looks, I don't know, ...kind a more classy!

 

[shakinbacon]

question

Did you have to handle the inlays specially to prevent staining them?

 

[TheAntMan]

I like the look of the darker fretboard.

Hmmmm...that headstock sure is looking light and lonely!!! <hint><hint>

Nice Job.

--Ant

 

[Sterling_Bass]

I like how that came out.

 

[five7]

Did you have to handle the inlays specially to prevent staining them?

The inlays are not made of wood so they won't take the stain. Or so I would imagine.

 

[Moondog]

The inlays did get a little darker; they seem take a little stain but it does not penetrate like the wood - you can easily remove the dye from the inlays but not the rosewood.

I read of people scratching off the dye from inlays with fingernails, knife, razorblade, etc. but I tried a pencil eraser and it actually worked like a charm; small circular motion removes residual dye without risk of scratching the inlay.

Although only cosmetic, this was the best mod I've ever done to a bass; I love the way it looks (much richer looking) and that makes me pick this one up a lot more than I used to.