Members co2289 Posted July 20, 2016 Members Share Posted July 20, 2016 Greetings, forum folk! I recently bought myself a Fender FSR Stratocaster HSS to have a break from my SG. The guitar, overall, is a joy to play. Alas, when it arrived yesterday, the rosewood fingerboard appeared to be faded on the high E side of the neck. I would understand if this guitar was aged a bit, but this guitar came fresh out of the box like this. Is there a way to darken this light streak on the rosewood such as oils or coating? Thank you for your time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted July 20, 2016 Members Share Posted July 20, 2016 Personally, I think I'd "bless it and forgive it" as being a bit of character, but I understand your initial reaction, mine would be the same. Well, you could try a stain like this stuff http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and...id_Stains.html Or go more towards ebony with an India ink stain http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and...ard_Stain.html But if it were me, and if I could live with it, I think I'd rather just apply some Gibson's Luthier's Choice Fretboard oil. It will, however, slightly darken the entire board, but it might be more to your liking that way. I routinely use a bit of this stuff when I'm doing "long overdue" string changes. I think it helps protect the boards a bit from wear by making them a bit more resilient and I like the darker look of an oiled board.https://www.amazon.com/Gibson-Gear-A...ag=googhydr-20 It used to be that you could find the Gibson FB oil for sale separately. I think vendors may have been losing a bit too much on "free shipping" policies, so I mostly just see the triple pack for sale now. But the other products, like the string cleaner, are quite useful too. That stuff can clean your strings without leaving behind a potentially gunky residue like Fast Fret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted July 20, 2016 Members Share Posted July 20, 2016 It's not faded. Rosewood can have naturally occurring light streaks. That said, an 'ebonizer' is typically used to even out the color of a board. http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Finishing_Supplies/Black_Fingerboard_Stain.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted July 20, 2016 Members Share Posted July 20, 2016 P.S. Nice looking guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members co2289 Posted July 20, 2016 Author Members Share Posted July 20, 2016 Thank you for the replies! Perhaps I should see this streak as a unique characteristic that could make this guitar my own as opposed to a likeness of another. If it bugs me longer than it should, I'll coat the streaks with an ebonizer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Variations of shading within the rosewood are not at all uncommon, but as they said, you can stain it if it really bothers you. Personally, I'd let it go, but YMMV. It is a really nice looking guitar - congrats - and welcome to HC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted July 21, 2016 Members Share Posted July 21, 2016 That's very normal for rosewood. As wood gets more scarce you are going to see more of it. Here's a little anecdote. We have always expected ebony to be pitch black - piano keys, clarinets, guitar fretboards. Bob Taylor went to Cameroon Africa to source ebony for fretboards and went out in the forest to watch trees being felled. Once they were on the ground the logger cuts into them to see if the wood is black enough - those trees went to the mill. Bob asked what happened to the rest - the logger said they left them on the ground. Bob asked how many trees were good enough - the logger said one in ten. Bob said "the standard for the industry just changed" - if you notice now many new guitars with ebony fretboard have grey stripes running thru them. I happen to think they are beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted July 21, 2016 Members Share Posted July 21, 2016 . If it bugs me longer than it should' date=' I'll coat the streaks with an ebonizer. [/quote'] That "ebonizer" is designed to make ebony f/b's black - it will do the same with your rosewood. I would try to stain it as long as no warranty is voided. Remember a couple of things about staining. First, always practice on scrap - your results may not be what you expect and it can be very hard to undo. Your stain will be absorbed into both the lighter wood and the darker wood - it will change the color of both. Most stains are water or alcohol based, that should be safe on your strat but mask off all of the finish and plastic parts including marker dots. If you are considering any oil based products think of the guy who will refret it in the future - I hate working on a fretboard that oozes some sort of "feeding oil". When it is refretted the board may be sanded - that could bring the out the old color. Also as you play in the future you may make divots in the f/b that have the original color - that might look funky. Otherwise, stain away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted July 21, 2016 Members Share Posted July 21, 2016 If you do decide to stain, I have had good luck staining mahogany to match rosewood with equal parts of StewMac Colortone red and brown stain in denatured alcohol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members co2289 Posted July 21, 2016 Author Members Share Posted July 21, 2016 I would try to stain it as long as no warranty is voided. There is a clash here which is that the rosewood marking signals 'organic', fair enough but the Metallic red body signals "automotive" which is a precision thing. The two do not coexist well ( that's my analysis anyway Dr Freud ) Couldn't agree more with your analysis on the contrasting rosewood sided with a metallic C.A.R. body. I will probably leave the rosewood be since, like you said, I don't want to void any warranties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members co2289 Posted July 21, 2016 Author Members Share Posted July 21, 2016 That looks gorgeous! I'll play it safe with my Strat for now but that certainly brings up more options for darkening my rosewood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members co2289 Posted July 21, 2016 Author Members Share Posted July 21, 2016 @Chordite: Positions 2 & 4 are one of the many reasons I got a Strat to begin with. The irresistible quack along with the creamy neck single coil was triggering me enough for me to get one! However, I wanted to be in familiar turf as far as bridge is concerned (I'm not exactly a twang guy), so I went HSS. IMO, I prefer HSS over SSS any day of the week; Stratocaster purists be dammed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted July 22, 2016 Members Share Posted July 22, 2016 I would consider that a plus. Rosewood fretboards tend to look rather bland, especially as they soak up oils over time. To me they just look dark brown bla. Enjoy its uniqueness! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Emory Posted July 22, 2016 Members Share Posted July 22, 2016 I'd keep it. Makes it easier to identify if stolen and see someone playing it..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted July 22, 2016 Members Share Posted July 22, 2016 Try mineral or fret board finishing oil (combination of linseed oil and thinners which help the linseed get into the wood) and see if that is enough to darken it. Thinned linseed and turpentine has been used on woods for a long time so it has a historical track record of working well. Some of the new stuff has only been out a short time and you have no long term proof of how well it might or might not work. Personally I wouldn't stain it. I've heard many cases where the stain rubs off because it doesn't penetrate naturally oily rosewood well. Staining a fret board that is going to be finished is fine. Lacquer protects the stained wood. Unprotected it can wind up looking bad as moisture from your hands. Depending on the type of Stain it can dry the wood or clog the pores and reduce the absorption of fret board oil from seeping in and protecting the wood. My vote is use traditional methods of darkening the wood because you know they will last the life span of the instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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