Possible to stain a fretboard that already has

**Darren Kern** · Nov-09-2005, 8:04am

I just rough cut my ebony headstock overlay last night, and I love the way it looks, but I think overall my mando would look better if the fretboard was black as well. Would it be possible to stain/dye the fretboard black, or would it be to much of a hassle with the frets and dots already in? Here's a pic-

**arbarnhart** · Nov-09-2005, 8:37am

Can you even stain a fret board black reliably at all? You can't put a protective finish on it and it will have strings pressed against it. The wound bass strings are especially abrasive. I think a dyed fret board will show wear over time. This is from my experience with wood working in general, not luthery in particular.

**Darren Kern** · Nov-09-2005, 8:40am

That makes sense, I was just thinking it might be possible since some of the real cheap bridges are rosewood stained/dyed black to look like ebony.

**thistle3585** · Nov-09-2005, 8:45am

I used Fiebrgs(?) black leather dye on my IV kit. I dyed the headstock and the fretboard. It wiped off the fretboard dots and frets without any problem. It did stain the binding, but I was able to scrape it easily and I used tortoise binding so it wasn't that big of a deal. I mopped it on with the included brush with no problems at all. After several months it hasn't shown any wear at all. Be sure to clean it off well in and around the frets. Here's a bad photo of it.

**arbarnhart** · Nov-09-2005, 9:21am

You hit on a hot topic from a scroll saw craft (yet another hobby) board I frequent. The leather dyes will fade without UV protection. But if it is mostly in the case, that could be a very long while. It's a bigger issue with display art/craft items especially if it is segments of different colors glued up like this horse head I did:

I used an oil based ebony wood stain and have a protective finish, but I know someday the eye will be gray. Because it has finish and is tight against something of another color, I cannot touch it up if that happens. However, you would be able to touch up a fretboard if it ever needs it.

I may be wrong about the wear issue; I have the tiny frets so I do sometimes press all the way to the board, especially when I play a chord form where I cover both bass courses with one finger; I tend to press the D pair harder than the G. With larger frets and/or better technique it might not be an issue. But I was still thinking of a time frame longer than months.

BTW - my Washburn came with one of those cheap bridges. I cut a maple bridge which is currently on it (I have gone back and forth trying to determine which is really best; the cheap factory one is develping a lean so now I have decide the maple one is best). There is wear on the bridge from handling and sliding around in the bag where it is kept.

**grsnovi** · Nov-09-2005, 12:19pm

Commercial guitar manufacturers routinely dye/stain fretboards for a number of reasons: they use rosewood but want a black (ebony looking) board or they use ebony with light streaks in it. Martin stains some of their boards. Yes, with age and playing, the stain will eventually wear.

**otterly2k** · Nov-09-2005, 12:20pm

the good news being it seems pretty easy to re-stain it if/when that happens...

**Paul Hostetter** · Nov-09-2005, 2:58pm

Actually, your best shot is when the wood is absolutely fresh. Later re-dying doesn't get the same penetration.

Fiebing's and Angelus both make leather dyes that work very well for this. The oil-based Fiebing's that Stew-Mac sells isn't nearly as good, it doesn't penetrate.

Dye and dry several times. Lay it on thick but keep it off the binding and anything you don't want stained black. If you have thin pearl dots, the dye will get under the dots and darken them, but if the dots are reasonably thick, you won't have a problem.

After you've really loaded the grain of the wood with dye, lay on paste wax, the old-fashioned stuff, generously applied and rubbed into the grain with a cloth pad. Leave it on thick and let it dry overnight. Next, wipe it hard to remove the excess black wax and make the board shine. I use terrycloth and a lot of elbow grease for the final wipe. If necessary, use a pad of 0000 steel wool, then the terrycloth. The waxing isn't essential, but it really helps. You will notice little if any black coming off on your fingertips, ever.

The commercial hardwood dyeing is usually done in very long soaks, or in a vacuum chamber. The process you're doing won't be quite as good, but it'll make your board and your headstock overlay match and will be quite durable. The rosewood would have darkened quite a bit anyway, especially when waxed, even without the dye.