Members prauny Posted September 17, 2007 Members Share Posted September 17, 2007 I searched already and for some reason i got no usefull results on here and on project guitar. Which is odd as i know this has been discussed before. I only wish i had payed more notice at the time... Anyway, i want to dye my rosewood fretboard to look like ebony or just a darker colour, would those shoe polish sponge applicators work? Or do i need a better dye than that? Or even Kiwi shoe polish from a tin maybe? I know its been used to age necks. This is what i mean about the sponge applicator http://www.dollardays.com/images/z04/image2/15560.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atrox Posted September 17, 2007 Members Share Posted September 17, 2007 black leather dye works great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members prauny Posted September 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 17, 2007 black leather dye works great Cool, i can get that from the cobblers... do you call them cobblers over there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Leisure Lee Posted September 17, 2007 Members Share Posted September 17, 2007 This might sound a little crazy but here goes. If you have any Walnut trees around with the nuts still in the husk,or the husks off the ground, put the green husks in a container and mash them into pulp,let them age a few days until the concoction turns black. I have used this stain on many different projects besides guitar projects and it works great. Beware ! use gloves on your hands, the only thing that will remove it from your fingers is time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members prauny Posted September 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 17, 2007 This might sound a little crazy but here goes. If you have any Walnut trees around with the nuts still in the husk,or the husks off the ground, put the green husks in a container and mash them into pulp,let them age a few days until the concoction turns black. I have used this stain on many different projects besides guitar projects and it works great. Beware ! use gloves on your hands, the only thing that will remove it from your fingers is time I love these types of tips. I often think how i could make my own things before i go out and buy them. Unfortunetly i dont know where any walnut trees are around here, but i do like the tip dude Did i mention that i liked that tip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sambora#2 Posted September 17, 2007 Members Share Posted September 17, 2007 You can buy specific fretboard dye from places like Stewmac IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atrox Posted September 17, 2007 Members Share Posted September 17, 2007 You can buy specific fretboard dye from places like Stewmac IIRC. What they sell you is black leather dye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sambora#2 Posted September 17, 2007 Members Share Posted September 17, 2007 What they sell you is black leather dye. Ahh!! You learn something new everyday. Personally I have been fortunate enough to have fretboards that are great looking from stock, especially that of my Les Paul. Lovely figuring on the rosewood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members prauny Posted September 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 17, 2007 I would rather buy from the UK anyway than get things shipped over. And i can get leather dye from the shop in town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members prauny Posted September 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 17, 2007 Just to cover myself, i did search for this topic but 'dye' is a three letter word so it came up with an error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JC777 Posted September 17, 2007 Members Share Posted September 17, 2007 This is what you want http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_supplies/Colors,_tints,_and_stains/Black_Fingerboard_Stain.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members prauny Posted September 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 17, 2007 This is what you wanthttp://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_supplies/Colors,_tints,_and_stains/Black_Fingerboard_Stain.html Is that not the leather dye that Atrox mentioned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atrox Posted September 17, 2007 Members Share Posted September 17, 2007 Is that not the leather dye that Atrox mentioned? Yes that is it. This is what I originally ordered and it says leather dye right on the package. It even has pictures of little horse saddles on it They can't ship this outside US either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Inazone Posted September 17, 2007 Members Share Posted September 17, 2007 Forgive the crappy photo quality below, but it will give you a bit of an idea. The guitar on the left has a rosewood board, rosewood stained with the Stew-Mac leather dye in the middle, and actual ebony on the right. Obviously, it is next to impossible to distinguish the fretboards in a small pic, but the leather dye worked GREAT. Very consistent coverage using using a cotton swab or cloth. Have some acetone or other similar product handy to quickly remove any unwanted dye, and be sure to tape off anything you don't want to get stained. The only problem I ran into was that the fretboard edge had the same satin/clearcoat as the back of the neck, so I gave up trying to get the dye to stick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hoddy Posted September 17, 2007 Members Share Posted September 17, 2007 A Sharpie does great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members prauny Posted September 18, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 18, 2007 Forgive the crappy photo quality below, but it will give you a bit of an idea. The guitar on the left has a rosewood board, rosewood stained with the Stew-Mac leather dye in the middle, and actual ebony on the right. Obviously, it is next to impossible to distinguish the fretboards in a small pic, but the leather dye worked GREAT. Very consistent coverage using using a cotton swab or cloth. Have some acetone or other similar product handy to quickly remove any unwanted dye, and be sure to tape off anything you don't want to get stained. The only problem I ran into was that the fretboard edge had the same satin/clearcoat as the back of the neck, so I gave up trying to get the dye to stick. Nice, thats the effect im after. Do you still see the wood grain on your fretboards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members prauny Posted September 18, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 18, 2007 A Sharpie does great! Thanks mate, but i'll try the leather dye first... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smitty1979 Posted September 25, 2007 Members Share Posted September 25, 2007 Will leather dye effect dot inlays? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roy Posted September 25, 2007 Members Share Posted September 25, 2007 Thanks mate, but i'll try the leather dye first... Just make sure it's oil based, like Fiebings Pro, not water based. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hondro Posted September 25, 2007 Members Share Posted September 25, 2007 Will leather dye effect dot inlays? plastic isnt too porous so I highly doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smitty1979 Posted September 26, 2007 Members Share Posted September 26, 2007 Just make sure it's oil based, like Fiebings Pro, not water based. What about alcohol based? That's what I bought on ebay (don't have it yet though). Regarding inlays and binding, I did some research, and found out that dye will be on the surface of inlays, but a simple pencil eraser will clean it right up. However, binding will dye to a certain degree unless it's sealed with poly. I also found out that frets take on a dark stain and need to be polished with steel wool after the dye job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaveAronow Posted September 26, 2007 Members Share Posted September 26, 2007 plastic isnt too porous so I highly doubt it. It would be pretty easy to clean the plastic up even if it does accept a little of the dye. I think your problem has pretty much been solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mazi Bee Posted September 26, 2007 Members Share Posted September 26, 2007 Will leather dye effect dot inlays? Yes, depending on what material is used for the inlays. I dyed many many necks, and sometimes the dye wipes right off the inlay, other times I have to hit it with steel wool to get the slight gray hue off that the dye leaves behind. Standard dot inlays happen to be the same size as an ordinary hole puncher. So I've been punching out little masking tape dots and putting them over the dot lnlays. Time consuming, but makes clean up easier later on. I have not dyed a fretboard with huge inlays yet, so I have no advice on that, except to say don't let the dye sit for a long time on the inlays. Wipe it off the inlays immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted September 26, 2007 Moderators Share Posted September 26, 2007 Standard dot inlays happen to be the same size as an ordinary hole puncher. So I've been punching out little masking tape dots and putting them over the dot lnlays. Time consuming, but makes clean up easier later on. Thats a cute little tip...and a not unattractive picture:p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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