Jupiter Posted July 30, 2005 Report Posted July 30, 2005 Hey guys! To prepare for my possibe customization of my Ibanez RG7620, i'm trying to gather as much info as i can... The fretboard of the guitar is plain, unfinished rosewood. I'd like it better if it had the straight up black look of ebony. In most of the tutorials i've read, it suggests using black analine dye to achieve the stain. Now, if i was to do this, i would just basically prepare the dye, then rub it on the fretboard, right? The guitar has the usual Ibanez white pearl dots as fretboard markers. If i rub the stain right over them, will it stain the dots as well as the board? I don't know if the dots are actual pearl or just plastic with a piece of pearly paper at the bottom Also, does anyone have any pictures of rosewood boards that have been dyed black? I'd like to see just how deeply the dye covers the wood grain and all that. Thanks!!! Ben Quote
rhoads56 Posted July 30, 2005 Report Posted July 30, 2005 I don't know if the dots are actual pearl or just plastic with a piece of pearly paper at the bottom ← Pearl doesnt look like paper with 2mm of clear over it, so i guess this would be easy to tell... Quote
erikbojerik Posted July 30, 2005 Report Posted July 30, 2005 Jupiter, I don't know anyone who's tried to stain rosewood. Rosewoods tends to have oils in them which could very well repel the stain, giving you a blotchy-looking result. Just off the top of my head here...if I wanted to stain rosewood, I'd wipe it down heavily with acetone and then use an alcohol-based dye, pretty concentrated. Problem is, with your board the acetone could easily etch or dissolve the inlays (if they're plastic perloid) and also dissolve any glue in your fret slots. It can also eat the finish on the edges of the neck. Wiping with naptha could have the same issues, perhaps less so than acetone, but still not simple. Not saying it can't be done, but its tricky. Quote
Jupiter Posted July 30, 2005 Author Report Posted July 30, 2005 Wow! That all sounds... really, really unpleasant. For some reason, i could have sworn i recalled people talking about ebonizing their rosewood boards using analine dye... the procedure involved dissolving the dye in alchohol, if that makes any difference. Anybody else? Quote
shanter Posted July 30, 2005 Report Posted July 30, 2005 im not sure, but howabout using the steel wool and vinegar trick? i know it works on ebony but howaout rosewood? Quote
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