Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

[2Loud2Old]

First off, I have no idea what the long term effects of this will be, so take the following with a grain of salt.

I was trying to come up with a way to "Ebonize" rosewood. I know Stew-Mac has some stuff, but they won't ship it outside the US.

So.. I took a bottle of black injet ink from a refill kit, mixed it up with some lem-oil.

I gave it 3 applications (on an old crappy neck) let it soak for an hour the first time, 20 minutes the second, third. I rubbed the fretboard very, very well.. until I could see no residue comming off.

It seems to be working, no residue on my fingers, will have to put the neck on a guitar and play for a week or so to see.

It doesn't stain the inlays or even darken them, or the frets.. rosewood is as black as night.

[StukaJU87]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

Sounds cool, I wonder if it will stain binding. Let us know how this works out. I've been considering darkening my model 6's fret board, but it was far too expensive for me to frig it up by doing something stupid.

[eddie_van_earache]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

some of the later kramer nightswans used rosewood boards that they died black. They used india ink.

The lemon oil ink mixture make me a bit uneasy as I wouldnt know how the oil and the ink mix and how it will react to you finger oils. India ink actually dries completely so no worry there.

Good luck

[sully]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

you can also try danish oil that has a dark tint to it. watco makes a few tinted ones. it may not make it look just like ebony, but it will darken it up a bit.

sully

[VulfgangPfuck]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

Has anyone else tried the blackened tung oil thing yet?...I'm guessing the black ink with the oil trick might be a little better, because it would be thinner than tung oil, and thus more seepage into the grain of the Rosewood.

Tung oil also gives you that slick ebony feel though, once it's built up enough.

[desmauler]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

2loud2old has the long term effect been found? I was interested in the process working or not

[Subvamp]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

I use this stuff, and it's GREAT:
TransTint

I've used this stuff on a Strat neck and it not only turned the fretboard black as coal, but it hasn't worn off in over a year. Plus you can buy this stuff online. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[sully]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

i still don't get the whole idea; i mean, i like darker rosewood, sure, but i don't think i'd go out of my way to darken it. in a really warped way, it's like making your gf get implants.

sully

[eddiewarlock]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

i like the looks and the feel of ebony, ebonizing won't get you the tone of ebony,but the looks of it, i'd consider it on a cheaper guitar, I have an Ibanez RG 7420, will any of that will work??? will i have to sand the fretboard to let the ink sink in??

[txcharvel]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

Will this work on a guitar with a maple board?
[img]/images/graemlins/stupid.gif[/img]

[Thoraby]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

I think Rosewood boards sound, look and feel great. If I were too have a custom guitar made it would definately have a rosewood board.

[SEEGERMANY]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

A local music store was going out of business and they were selling their used equipment in bulk to other dealers. One dealer from Chicago had several guitars (Carvins and Jacksons) lying on the floor. When my Tech and I walked by, I noticed all of the guitars had black necks. My interest spiked and my tech told me to simmer down. He went to his shop and came back with a rag that had some type of solvent. He reached down and rubbed a small space on each of the guitar necks. Sure as ****, they had been dyed with indigo ink and were being passed off as ebony.

I contacted A Carvin rep and he got really offended and swore up and down that their factory had never done that sort of thing. He later retracted his statement when his previous supervisor stepped up to the plate and apologized saying that yes, Carvin as well as many manufacturers, used indigo ink to color their rosewood boards when there was a shortage of ebony.

It seems that violin and cello manufacturers also use this process on their low end models as well. So, if I was going to go through the process, I'd use indigo ink.

[mm2002]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

[ QUOTE ]
i still don't get the whole idea; i mean, i like darker rosewood, sure, but i don't think i'd go out of my way to darken it. in a really warped way, it's like making your gf get implants.
sully

[/ QUOTE ]

Or even worse yet, making someone elses gf get 'em!!! [img]/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img]

(hey, I'm married but still a little warped!) [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[toejam]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

[ QUOTE ]
Will this work on a guitar with a maple board?
[img]/images/graemlins/stupid.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
Why the hell would you want to make a maple board black?!? [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

...Ebony and maple have sort-of similar tones, so making it black would be closer than blackening a rosewood board... [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]