Stained Fretboard With Black Burst And Natural Binding?

[postal]

I've never seen stained figured maple fretboards and I'm not sure why not... I think it would look great. But to make things difficult.....

I want to stain it black, sand out, stain 2nd color, add narrow black burst, and have natural flame maple bindings.... Real bindings, not the cheese PRS fake ones.....

I'm thinking stain black, sand out, stain 2nd color then a couple coats of clear nitro to protect the stain in case the burst goes badly and I need to sand it out and redo..... Black nitro burst, then a couple clear coats to protect the burst.... glue in the natural bindings, scrape the excess glue/binding down. Install frets, then hit the binding/fretboard with a few layers of clear nitro.

I know normally a maple FB is fretted then finished, but the bindings need to go on before the frets, and I would like to do the binding after the stains/burst.....

Does this sound reasonable? Does this explain why people don't stain a figured maple FB?

Thanks!

Postal!

[Mike Navarro]

Hi postal, sounds to me razonably, but is a lot of work and time, about the fretboard clear coats, you can do it even after or before the freting, in my shop , depends the look I want in that fretboard, I apply the coats before or after, I do it before when I make one of my custom guitars, looks modern. I only paint after the fret jog when I restore a 50's reissue or CBS 70's Fenders Strat maple neck, thats the way they did it those years. Returning to the staining thing, you can do one of two ways, the first way is stain the figure maple fretboard with black water stain to raise the grain, sand it, install the natural bindings, cover it with masking tape, then paint the fretboard again but this time with alcohol black stain, this way doesn't run the black to the bindings, then lock both with the laquer you choose, apply plenty of coats, that way you have laquer thicknes to sand and stand the coats, then the bursting covering the bindings with low stick masking tape and then the whole thing or, make a sandwich between the fretboard and the natural binding with a very thin plastic black binding, the plastic binding will stop the water stain to run to the wood binding, of course you have to be very careful in the edges close to the bindings, so anyway you have to cover the bindings in this step, then the top coat to lock the stain, cover the bindings to the burst and paint the whole job. Any cuestion you can write me to Guitarzonepr.com and I greatfully will help you, mi web site is new, but I have 22 years as a Luthier making custom old school hand craft guitars to professional musicians from all America, get a tour inside my shop, theres few pictures of my work, but soon will post more new pictures of my new boltons & neckset models!

Mike Navarro-- Guitarzonepr.com