# Dying/ darkening rosewood fretboards?



## Estilo (Jul 22, 2011)

Some rosewood boards are brownish and pale, and some tends toward the more visually-appealing ebony side. Is it possible to dye a brown one darker?


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## AvantGuardian (Jul 22, 2011)

Yeah, I've done this with black leather dye to a lighter rosewood board and it came out pretty nice looking. Unfortunately I don't have any pics. If you google it though, you'll find plenty of results for people who have done this - its not too uncommon. My personal tips - do a good job taping off the rest of the neck and any other parts that you don't want to get dye on, and clean the fretboard well before applying the dye to make sure you get a nice even application.


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## MetalMike04 (Jul 22, 2011)

my dad this this to a strat of his with a rosewood polish i belive, it came out darker but it gave the rosewood less of a nice look to it, ill have to get back and let you know what the product was


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## SilenceIsACrime (Jul 22, 2011)

AvantGuardian said:


> Yeah, I've done this with black leather dye to a lighter rosewood board and it came out pretty nice looking. Unfortunately I don't have any pics. If you google it though, you'll find plenty of results for people who have done this - its not too uncommon. My personal tips - do a good job taping off the rest of the neck and any other parts that you don't want to get dye on, and clean the fretboard well before applying the dye to make sure you get a nice even application.


 
I have actually been curious about doing something like this too - do you need to tape over the frets and inlays or simply the sides of the neck and the like?


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## AvantGuardian (Jul 22, 2011)

SilenceIsACrime said:


> I have actually been curious about doing something like this too - do you need to tape over the frets and inlays or simply the sides of the neck and the like?



I didn't tape the frets or inlays. The frets didn't seem to be affected by the dye at all. The inlays (MOP dots on the guitar I did) seemed ever so slightly darker after the fact, but I could be imagining it. If I had some kind of fancy inlay, I'd probably be more hesitant to do it, but maybe someone else with some experience can chime in on that.

I ended up doing not the best taping job, so I got some dye that bled onto the side of the neck, but I was able to wet sand/polish it out pretty easily since I noticed it right away.


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## Anonymous (Jul 22, 2011)

There are makers like things with wood stain in them for smaller projects like this, theres a video of someone doing it on youtube and it looked really good afterwards.


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## silent_k (Jul 25, 2011)

I recently built a guitar for a friend with a rosewood fingerboard that was quite light and streaky compared with others I've seen. It was sort of pale-looking and not super attractive, but after a couple coats of Watco Danish oil it got MUCH darker and prettier. This was just the natural Danish oil, too, not one of the colored types, although you could try that, too -- I believe they have shades that are pretty dark. Is it a bolt-on neck with some fingerboard overhang? If so you could test something out on the underside of the overhang to see how it's going to look before doing the whole thing.


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## SrDeMaFp (Jul 25, 2011)

I've done this before with Fiebing's leather dye (same stuff StewMac sells) with good results. The inlays did get a bit darker after the fact but, I just hit 'em with a pencil eraser and they're good as new.


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## themike (Jul 25, 2011)

STEWMAC.COM : Black Fingerboard Stain







Best stuff, best results, affordable price. Won't even stain inlays, just wipe it off.


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## Floppystrings (Jul 25, 2011)

th3m1ke said:


> STEWMAC.COM : Black Fingerboard Stain
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That fretboard being painted had nice looking rosewood. 

I personally dislike the way stained boards look.


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## XMetalcheFX (Aug 22, 2015)

I would strongly recommend SPEED BALL Brand INDIA INK.


Here's why:

1. It has SHELLAC IN IT, which makes it quick drying, and will protect the fret board. You could even use this on the back of an unfinished neck, to seal it and to keep the raw feel, which is my next project.
2. It does not cover the wood grain, it is absorbed into it and due to the shellac will give it a more natural finish
3. Its ARCHIVAL GRADE INK, meaning it will not fade in light over time, or with age.
4. It is Waterproof. This part doesn't matter, but what it DOES MEAN, is that you will be able to use cleaning products on your board, without black coming off.
5. It is available in a 2 oz jar. Meaning you don't have to spend 15 bucks on a big tube of dye you will use once, and it also means you wont have a big tube of dye/stain lying around to go "HMMMM what else can I try to stain!???!!!"
6. THis one was most important I felt, but all the other suggestions just dye your board black and have a satin looking finish (that i saw) but because this is an ink pigment, it has a sheen to it that makes it LOOK ebony, in that it has that "smooth plasticky look" which i beleive is due to the shellac being quick drying and having a minor protecting/sealing effect.

Words of caution:

1. You will need to use a paint sponge and line your whole house with newspaper. If this gets on anything, it wont come out. PERIOD. Baby, Dog, your hands, or the wife's favorite chair....I tripped leave me alone!

2. You might have to sand your fretboard lightly. I usually will not do this, as rosewood is porous, and it is not the type of treated, or pressed wood one would use to make furniture. I don't have inlays on my MTM2, which I remade to my specs (Bareknuckle juggs, glowing side markers, dyed fingerboard, soon to be sanded neck).

This is the video I used for refference, and this gentleman was also very helpful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0E7E6uSPJY

The option I am telling you about is option three. Still, a lot of helpful tips.

Hope I helped!


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## aesthyrian (Aug 22, 2015)

Typically, a rosewood fretboard is left unfinished, so why would using an ink/dye that contains shellac be a good thing, or an improvement? Honest question. I just assume that guitar makers have been leaving their rosewood fretboards unfinished for a reason other than cost-cutting.


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## Humbuck (Aug 22, 2015)

Get ready for stained fingertips for a while.


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## XMetalcheFX (Aug 22, 2015)

aesthyrian said:


> Typically, a rosewood fretboard is left unfinished, so why would using an ink/dye that contains shellac be a good thing, or an improvement? Honest question. I just assume that guitar makers have been leaving their rosewood fretboards unfinished for a reason other than cost-cutting.



Thanks for correcting me, I was unclear about that. I was pointing out the shellac part out, because MOST guitar fingerboards that are ebony, have a plasticky sheen to them, and are not satin finished looking.

The leather die stew mac sells leaves a satin looking finish, making the finish of the board look like dyed rosewood. The India ink i mentioned leaves a slightly shiny look, making it look more "ebonized". Shelllac is commonly used to treat a sanded down neck if you take the finish off, which dries smooth and doesn't gunk up. The pigment of the ink and its other properties give the finish its look tho, not the shellac, I was conferencing the shellac because it gets into the wood very well and dries quickly, as apposed to being a thick dye.

Perhaps I was unclear, it will by NO MEANS be a finished looking fingerboard akin to a maple neck on a fender, it will just have the "plasticky" look (i don't know the right word) of an ebony fingerboard.

YMMV I tried this method from the youtube video and i liked it better than the results my buddy got from the leather dye from stewmac. I am by no means an expert. I just moved but if I am able to pull the MTM2 out sometime soon I'll snap pics.


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## Hybrid138 (Aug 27, 2015)

Here is my adventure 

RG8 Ebonized Rosewood and Pickup swap - Album on Imgur


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## XMetalcheFX (Sep 8, 2015)

Looks good bro


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