Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

[sully]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

psst...he was kidding. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

Shhhhhhh!! Sully!!!! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[sully]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

i've also heard of some that eat a package of oreos and lick their fretboard with their mouths full. i've heard it sweetens the overall tone. har har.

sully

[Jack The Riffer]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

Yeah Sully, it gives it a nice "Creamy" Tone. C'mon, it's as plain as black and white. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[toejam]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

[ QUOTE ]
i've also heard of some that eat a package of oreos and lick their fretboard with their mouths full. i've heard it sweetens the overall tone. har har.

sully

[/ QUOTE ]
What about those new Golden Oreos? I bet that would be good on maple, heh? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Newc]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

Actually it'd be pretty neat to have a rosewood board that looked like ebony but sounded like rosewood [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

And then you also have those fretboards that use a very light rosewood and look crappy with good inlays - like my block-inlaid Explorer with the "almost maple" rosewood board [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Newc

[Rhmsc8]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

Sorry for bringing this thread to life again.... Does anyone know if any of these process's will stain the binding. I will mask it off anyway.... but I am wondering how cautious I need to be, just in case.

Thank you very much.

Ronnie

[mm2002]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

uh oh...here we go again. Anyway, I just can't keep quiet on this one!!! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
Yes, any ink or dye you use can and will dis-color your binding and inlays if you're not real careful. The only method that has impressed me was the vinegar and steel wool. It isn't a dye, it's a chemical reaction, and it only darkens the wood.
Check this out: http://www.joewoodworker.com/ruststain.htm

This site wasn't up the last time I posted about this method but he sums it up well. The only thing is I never used salt in mine. Maybe better?

[guitar08man]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

i am thinking of doing this too. which methods dont mess up the inlays? any help would be appreciated

[Rhmsc8]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

kind of what I figured. Thanks so much for the response mm2002. I think I am going to give it a go on one of my RGT's. I love them... But the necks are not a nice looking rosewood. Some are. They are not.

Thanks again.

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

Use a Q-Tip to apply the steel wool rust stain. This way, you can avoid the inlays and binding, and if you do get any on the inlays/binding, wipe it off with another dry Q-Tip.

I've found that if your rosewood fretboard isn't dark enough, the first thing to do is to treat it with lemon oil. I don't know if the rosewood is supposed to turn THAT dark, but my rosewood boards did when I used the lemon oil. If it's still not dark enough, then I guess you could apply the rust stain.

[Rhmsc8]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

I'll def give that a shot 1st. Thanks NOTP. That is very good advice.

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

Here are a few pics of my KE3 with surprisingly dark rosewood board, lemon oil treated:







Good enough for me! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

Also, I've noticed that fingerboard crud left over from your fingers tends to be LIGHTER than the color of a rosewood/ebony board, so remember to clean your boards, moreso for an ebony one. I've noticed that rosewood is naturally oilier and porous than ebony, so maybe the rosewood just seems to eat dirt without affecting its appearance. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] Ebony, while it looks nice, seems to build up finger residue quicker.

[Rhmsc8]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

Yeah... I agree. Build up does seem more so on my Ebony boards. I will def try the lemon oil first. Is that the faux binding you did? That looks nice, really nice.

[guitar08man]

Re: Different way of Ebonizing Rosewood.

that faux binding looks awesome!!! howd you do that?