# Ebonize that rosewood, and satin up that glossy neck



## Galius (Nov 13, 2011)

I made an attempt at ebonizing a rosewood fretboard a year or so back but I just tried it again with great results. Its cheap and easy to do so I figured I would share. Also I found a cheap, easy, and effective way to satin up that glossy neck for faster play, or restore that satin neck/body after its been worn down to a semi glossy after alot of play/wear. I had heard of and tried steel wool like most people but I found this a better alternative.

So for $6.25 plus shipping you can get the black dye from stewmac STEWMAC.COM : Black Fingerboard Stain

And for a few dollars you can get a Mr. Clean magic eraser. The magic eraser can be used to get any dye that might run under the tape off the finish on the neck (even using the best tape its possible to have a spot or 2) or any you might have on your hands anywhere on the neck. 

If you have a satin neck or guitar with satin finish (IE Agile Intrepid) the magic eraser works perfect for restoring it to its original flat finish, or you can just use it to make your glossy finish neck nice and satiny! I had glossy wear marks around the volume knob, above the bridge, and the back of the neck that this took care of on my Intrepid. 

Anyway just tape up the edge of the neck and take your time with Q-tips and apply the dye evenly until it looks like its soaked in really well. I did 2 coats to make sure I got it all really well. Then when it dries in about 15 to 20 minutes use paper towel to remove the excess dye then use a rag to clean up any remaining spots. It may be a bit more tedious having to be more careful if you dont have binding but on this one I had black binding. The dye will wipe right off the frets, binding, and inlays


The first pic is the guitar when I first got it. The rosewood clashed with the rest of the guitar IMO. Also the inlays seem to pop out more


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## HighPotency (Nov 13, 2011)

Looks hot!


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## TRENCHLORD (Nov 13, 2011)

Yeah!!! big improvement man, nice job. Does the magic eraser have a slight abrasivness to it or something? I have long since worn off the satin on my RGT and have been planning on trying the wool or a simalar technique. And that sounds like a really quik fix.


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## GuitaristOfHell (Nov 13, 2011)

Looks nice!


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## Galius (Nov 13, 2011)

Thanks guys. Yes you just get the eraser wet and it has a very fine abbrasiveness to it. It seems like its easier to get an nice even result. I would say try it on a very small area or on something glossy you have laying around if you want to feel it out to be sure. I have a Taylor 414ce that has a glossy top but everything else is satin. Even thinking about taking a magic eraser to a $2000 guitar.


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## kruneh (Nov 13, 2011)

Hey, that turned out great!
Thanks for sharing.


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## Purelojik (Nov 13, 2011)

hey that looks awesome. does it still stain your fingers when you play? i know that the reviews on stew macs say that some users had problems with the stain staining their fingers and clothes. hows your experience so far?


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## Explorer (Nov 13, 2011)

Just a word of caution: If your fretboard is bound with anything other than black, be sure to do some reading about fingerboard dye and binding. I understand it wasn't a problem for the OP... who had black binding to begin with, so any dye won't show.

Looks nice!


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## troyguitar (Nov 13, 2011)

Explorer said:


> Just a word of caution: If your fretboard is bound with anything other than black, be sure to do some reading about fingerboard dye and binding. I understand it wasn't a problem for the OP... who had black binding to begin with, so any dye won't show.
> 
> Looks nice!



Yeah I kind of want to try some dye on my ARZ307 but don't want to screw up the white binding... I'll probably just leave it as I am one of the few people who actually like rosewood.


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## Galius (Nov 13, 2011)

Yeah it may be a different story with white binding now that you mention it. I thought i heard of someone still using it on a les paul with white binding when I was doing my original research, but that was some time ago. You could probly use the magic eraser to clean the binding off....these things are amazing lol. Rosewood can look nice all depending on color scheme of a guitar, but like I said this one just didnt look right with rosewood. 



Purelojik said:


> hey that looks awesome. does it still stain your fingers when you play? i know that the reviews on stew macs say that some users had problems with the stain staining their fingers and clothes. hows your experience so far?


 
I used a guitar that I had done before and had no problems after making sure to wipe off any extra dye. You really have to wipe it good when youre finished to get any dye that didnt soak in because it can collect by the frets and such. I really buff the hell out of the fretboard when im done and have no issues.


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