Camouflaging Dot Inlays

[funkify]

Hi, I just bought a used guitar with dot inlays that appear to be abalone, in a rosewood fretboard. I'm lookng for ideas on how I can "camouflage" the inlays. Basically I want the guitar to look like it doesn't have any inlays at all. I don't want to go to all the trouble of removing frets, drilling, sanding, etc. I'm not looking for perfection, basically I just want the inlays not to be so eye-catching. And if my fretboard gets darker in the process that's quite alright.

Is there some dyeing, staining, or other coloring process I can do to my fretboard and/or inlays to "camouflage" them?

[jtmullet]

I gues you could drill out the abalone fill the holes with a rosewood dowl then stain it black to make it look like ebony.

[Jon]

Regardless of what you do, you'll at least have to go to the trouble of sanding. If you aren't looking to put that much time into it, you wont be able to accomplish anything.

If you do go with the rosewood dowel trick, you could reverse the grain on the dots. That may look neat.

[stevenhoneywell]

This is only an idea....I've never tried it so please don't shoot me if it doesn't work.

You could try and add some rosewood coloured stain to some clear nail polish and use the little brush to cover them up.

*Naturally, test this out before doing on the actualy guitar*

[funkify]

I suppose I would be willing to do drilling and sanding, but I really don't want to have to refret this guitar. I bought it used but ever-so-slightly used, and the frets are practically brand new. If I used wood dowels and did all the sanding would I have to take off the frets to do it? Also, where could I get rosewood dowels? Or other woods?

I saw in another thread where someone mentioned getting a radius block and sanding inlays against the block in order to avoid refretting, but since dowels would be so small, it seems like it would be very difficult if not impossible to maintain the same sanding direction on such a small dowel. That seems more difficult than putting in block inlays, which is what I'd actually prefer. Camouflaging the dots is actually my backup solution because I imagined that it would be much easier to do than putting in block inlays.

Regarding clear nail polish, thanks for sharing the idea, although I think I'll pass on that. Nail polish tends to chip and flake after time, not to mention drying rather thick. I do have a similar idea that I will probably test out first, though -- those furniture touch-up pens.

Thanks for the advice so far -- I really appreciate it, and please keep it coming!

Edited April 3, 2007 by funkify

[Southpa]

Is the color / wood grain of the fretboard fairly uniform? If there is any pattern then this idea would not work so well. Anyway, drill out the old dots and fill the holes with a mixture of rosewood dust (collected from the same fb by light sanding here and there) and CA glue. I call it the "poor man's" inlay and did it once with gumwood dust on a maple fb. Drop some CA into the hole, then a pinch of dust and pack it in there. Then more CA and more dust until its built up above the surrounding surface. Let it cure and then sand it back down.

[funkify]

Is the color / wood grain of the fretboard fairly uniform? If there is any pattern then this idea would not work so well. Anyway, drill out the old dots and fill the holes with a mixture of rosewood dust (collected from the same fb by light sanding here and there) and CA glue. I call it the "poor man's" inlay and did it once with gumwood dust on a maple fb. Drop some CA into the hole, then a pinch of dust and pack it in there. Then more CA and more dust until its built up above the surrounding surface. Let it cure and then sand it back down.

What is this "CA glue" you speak so highly of?

[Southpa]

You may as well be asking , "What is this "search engine" you speak of?" Its all there, right at your fingertips. Heres the first result I got.

http://www.fatlion.com/sailplanes/glues.html

[soapbarstrat]

What is this "CA glue" you speak so highly of?

California Glue. It sticks together quite well, just because it's so superficial and doesn't know any better.

[funkify]

Ha ha.

Seriously, what is CA glue?

[marksound]

CyanoAcrylate = Super glue.

[funkify]

Doesn't that set too quickly to be useful? When I've used superglue, it's only workable for like a split second.

[stevenhoneywell]

you could try veneering your fingerboard but that would depend on how high your frets are