India Ink vs Fiebling's Leather Dye

[Mudlark]

Simple answer: If you condition your board often don't do this. Mineral oil, and probably anything else will loosen it up.

A few weeks after oiling the ink and dye, to this day, some still comes off slightly if you vigorously rub a napkin or your knuckle on it.
At this point I don't think it would come off on your fingers to a noticeable degree, but I can't be sure because the experiment neck isn't on a guitar.

Click my short video and read the description for lots of info and answers. It does have a bit of a shine. It's very comparable to my ebony.

There's no sign of fading on my guitars after many weeks. It won't go anywhere unless I put something on the board. Then, I'll probably have to redo it.

[DanzoStrife]

Oh ic. I was afraid of that. I guess i'll just live with chocolate brown rather than black.

[Mudlark]

A friend of mine recently did his board with ink. In a few weeks he's going to try F-One oil as he has used for years. Hopefully, it'll work better than mineral oil, but I'm skeptical.

Until/unless a way is found to clean/condition the board without loosening the ink, I can only say be prepared to either remove/reapply the ink, or get used to black fingertips until it dries.

[DanzoStrife]

Hey I forgot to ask.

Q Does the Dye stay on the fretboard better than the Ink?

Btw, when I say i 'clean' my fretboard. Not really. My hands are always washed too well to make my fretboard look dirty.
When I apply lemon oil, it's basically lightly applied then I leave it to dry when I go to bed. I don't start RUBBING like that.

So I wonder if any of these methods are for me?

[Mudlark]

The ink seems too shed less than the dye after oiling. It's been 30+ days and they still both come off when I drag my knuckle across the board. The amount coming off at this point is very, very, little. It possibly wouldn't show on your fingers at this point unless you sweat a lot, but it's still something to consider.

The 'rubbing' I did to test it wouldn't be any more aggressive than playing the guitar. Sometimes our fingers really touch a lot of wood when playing the board...or, that's my experience.

When I put mineral oil on for testing I used a very tiny amount, so from what I've seen, even using it sparingly won't stop the adverse affects. Even when it came off quite a bit in the early stages it still wasn't coming off enough to notice it missing from the board.
There's no issue with wiping it off the board, but the issue is getting it on your fingers and then getting in the string windings and dulling your sound.

The guy I mentioned earlier said F-One oil didn't loosen it up. This surprises me, but it's what he said.

I, too, wash my hands before I play. I've never seen a buildup on my board that required any products to remove.

[DanzoStrife]

^ Ok that makes sense here.
Hmm, with my table and bed being white, I can't risk getting ANYTHING on my hands. I'm a clean guy and wouldn't like my bed with dye on it.
I also get really annoyed watching youtubers with grimey fretboards that look like they wiped their ass with it after pulling it out of a sewer. Some people don't clean it purposely..GROSS

F-One and that brand seems to have the most expensive line of products, but is it just hype? I mean everyone claims they got a new formula, but dissect it and it's no different than basics.

[Mudlark]

I don't know anything about F-One, I've never used it.
The ink comes right off the skin with water, but the dye is a bitch.

[DanzoStrife]

That's not a good combo
-Easy to come off the fretboard onto your fingers, or with a little oil and mess up your strings
-But hard to remove of your bed.

Fuuuuuu :P

[DanzoStrife]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Ebonizing-a-Rosewood-Guitar-Fretboard/

What about using WOOD finish stain? this stuff is super thick. I used it on my dresser. I put lemon oil on it and it wasn't rubbing off and it's been 2 years.
I totally forgot about that.

Right now I'm wetting my hands and rubbing it on the dresser, trying to get some stain on it. So far, hasn't come off. I'll try more aggression.

[Mudlark]

I had 6 coats of ebony minwax on my board before the ink. It was no where near black. It looked like very dark rosewood, but in no way was it black.

It is permanent and won't come off with cleanings that I ever noticed.

This is 6 coats. I can't imagine how the guy in your post got it that black, unless it's the lighting. In the right lighting I could make mine appear blacker than it actually was. This pic is the most realistic;

[IMG][/IMG]

[DanzoStrife]

^ Well that's a shame. That's no darker than my regular brown stain from that company. Also the color of your completed fretboard right there is about as dark as my EBONY fretboard, not dark enough at all.
I learned the ones that are more aged are darkest.
What about this stuff? http://www.lmii.com/products/finishi...ingerboard-dye saw it also recommended

[Mudlark]

My understanding is the stuff sold to luthiers is usually leather dye...same as the Fiebling's I used. StewMac sells the Fiebling's. It's alcohol based and not quite as black as the ink. I MUCH prefer dealing with the ink. Cleanup is a bitch with dye. That WON'T come off your sheets.

I'd suggest giving the ink a shot for like $3.99 a bottle. It'll come off the board with steel wool if you want it gone.
Try the F-One. If it loosens the dye, or takes too long to dry, just wool the board bare and say mission aborted.

If you're board is kept clean and it gets sufficient moisture from the environment, conditioners/cleaners aren't necessary imo. I rarely use them because it's a battle in this damp, old house to keep the humidity down. Dryness isn't an issue for me at all.