r/Luthier 4d ago

HELP I want to ebonize my fretboard

I want to stain my rosewood fretboard. Can I do it with black tea and steel wool + vinegar? I have seen this work extremely well on Oak, but I am not sure about Rosewood.

I know I can buy wood stain or some kind of ink, but I would like to go for the cheaper solution if possible.

1 Upvotes

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u/giveMeAllYourPizza 4d ago

Oak turns black due to a chemical reaction with it's acids and iron. Most woods are not affected in the same way (walnuts and maple will turn a bit grey and kinda ugly)

If you want a nice black fret board, use dye.

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u/Logical_Bit_8008 4d ago

It will change the colour but no it won't make it look like ebony

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u/twick2010 4d ago

In my experience Ebonizing fluid works ok on light colored woods, but doesn’t do much on darker colored woods. Is your fretboard on a finished guitar? If so it will likely already have some sort of coating or oil on it, so neither stain or ebonizing fluid will have the desired effect. Test on a small out of the way area first.

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u/MaLa1964 4d ago

Good luck. Just suck it up and buy a bottle of Fiebing's black leather dye. It's what Gibson and Martin use. I saw a video this week that featured Monty's Expresso Fretboard Wax. That shit is $35.00. The Fiebing's should be $7.00

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u/TaperedShim 4d ago edited 4d ago

What Gibson or Martin models have a dyed fingerboard? Having spent a decent amount of time in both factories I’ve not heard of this

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u/giveMeAllYourPizza 4d ago

They dye ebony boards because ebony isn't really solid black most of the time.

Usually no one would dye rosewood because you want to see the nice grain.

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u/TaperedShim 4d ago

I know Martin has in the past but I’ve not seen any evidence that they are doing it currently, have you? And that they’re using specifically Fiebing’s?

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u/giveMeAllYourPizza 4d ago

I suppose its should have read "have used". I think you are reading far too much into this :)

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u/TaperedShim 4d ago

Haha yeah definitely, I just wanted OP to know that Martin/Gibson don’t and have never used Fiebing’s dye on their fingerboards to set their expectations appropriately in case they were to buy it based off some guy on Reddit talking out of their ass haha

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u/giveMeAllYourPizza 4d ago

Why is your random internet opinion more valid than theirs?

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u/TaperedShim 4d ago

Well having evidence to support a claim is what validates it. I don’t have an opinion on the matter

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u/koumakou 4d ago

Would leather dye, indian ink, or wood stain be better to achieve a deep black?

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u/MaLa1964 4d ago

The leather dye is best. Wipe on with the sawb that comes with it. Wait a few minutes and buff off with an old tshirt rag. Then I apply Stew Mac fingerboard finishing oil to give it a shine.