Can you dye a board safely with the frets on?!?

[RobRR]

The dye works good, but wears off. When I built this guitar, I dyed the board using the Stew Mac stuff. Let it dry in the sun, recoated a few times in hopes that it would reall soak in. But none the less, its wearing off almost everywhere I play. And dont try to clean the board, thatll really take it off.



No updated pics, but believe me when I say its wearing off. Kinda sucks, I really liked the ebony look.

[Nazgul]

Wow! Great thread on sevenstring.org Regor!

I'm gonna go get some of the leather dye soon...

[mm2002]

How did he do that? I wanna know .

BTW, what's that India Ink you're talking about?

The old steel wool and vinegar trick is no secret. A lot of wood workers use it with nice results. I did the model 4 neck a couple of years ago and it turned out great. The beauty of it is that it won't color binding or inlays. It's not a "dye", but rather creates some kind of chemical reaction with the wood turning it black. Here's a good description:

http://www.wildlifeintarsiadesign.com/Tips%20HTM/new_tips_for_ebonizing_wood.htm

[Regor]

The old steel wool and vinegar trick is no secret. A lot of wood workers use it with nice results. I did the model 4 neck a couple of years ago and it turned out great. The beauty of it is that it won't color binding or inlays. It's not a "dye", but rather creates some kind of chemical reaction with the wood turning it black. Here's a good description:
http://www.wildlifeintarsiadesign.co...izing_wood.htm

Wow, you learn something new every day!! I'ma try that out on the other guitar's fretboard and see which 'lasts' longer. As the dyed board I did is relatively new (couple months), so it'd be a good test.

[Special-K]

Is India ink same as henna ink?...
I don`t really like rosewood necks so I maybe want
to dye mine neck ebony too...But I˙m affraid it will go off...
and that would suck...

[JZ06]

will the dye change the inlay color? the rosewood board i intend to dye has mop dots.

sorry, but having grey or weird colored dots due to the dye is not an option.

[RobRR]

Didnt dye the Moto inlays at all, I cant imagine it would die MOP.

[Regor]

will the dye change the inlay color? the rosewood board i intend to dye has mop dots.

sorry, but having grey or weird colored dots due to the dye is not an option.

I can't guarantee anything on a sharkfin inlay, but the dye that got on the dots on my RG7420 came off very easily with a pencil eraser. So I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just don't let it sit on there too long. You can use a Q-Tip to soak up the dye to reduce the amount of stain on the inlay after applying the dye, and then use the pencil eraser to get rid of the rest of it.

[mm2002]

Didnt dye the Moto inlays at all, I cant imagine it would die MOP.

Actually Rob, the MOP is somewhat porous and will take on a little color much easier than the plastic ones.

[RobRR]

Ah well there you go, learn something new every day!

Im thinking of trying the vinegar trick, maybe Ill get better results than the dye.

[m2pmd70]

Darn it Mark, one more thing to add to the 'Pimp My Avenger' task list. LOL

[gemini8026]

I have one issue now. the one chap says it ISNT permanent and rubs off?!? I never had that issue on any other ebony fretboard, so is this not a permanent fix?!?! It says PRS and other companies use it. Any reason why it wouldnt work, or is there a good chance that the ebony on that guitar WAS dyed and that blonde streak has a grain that wont accept dye?

[RobRR]

I used it on rosewood, and coated the whole thing. Ebony is already mostly black to begin with, as opposed to rosewood which is why its probably more noticeably wearing off.

All I know is, when I play my fingers do get black.

[gemini8026]

Ahh....

Well, what sets apart ANY guitar companys ebony job from a home one then. Why did my other guitars NOT stain my fingers. More drying time?!? Soaked in the stuff?!?

Trying not to beat the thread to death, but wanna get all the questions out in the open

[Regor]

Totally understandable dude. I wouldn't want to do it either unless I knew it was going to work.

It may lie in the fact that the dye he used is alcohol-based. The one I used was from a store called Tandy Leather. And it's not alcohol based.

http://www.tandyleather.com/products.asp?number=22056-01

Maybe try the vinegar/steel wool trick?