Brian LoPrinzi Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 hey guys, i am about to start building a guitar, and i wasn't sure how to go about the fretboard. the body of the guitar is going to be stained white or gray to bring out the figure (also need help on this, to decide how to do this) and my idea was to also dye the fretboard to match it. i don't know what type of wood to do this with, but preferably something medium to high figure, and preferably not maple. another option would be to paint the fretboard to match the body, but i don't know if that has any advantage or disadvantage over dying it. any pointers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted September 25, 2010 Report Share Posted September 25, 2010 Get some holly (maybe, never used it so someone correct me if I'm wrong on this being a decent choice) or black and white ebony (you can find pieces that have all white in a fretboard size). That said, you can't really DYE white... you can bleach wood. But I've never done this so I don't know. Painting a fretboard a color is a bad idea. Your playing will wear through it eventually and it will look strange (see old Fenders' fretboards and imagine that with a solid color). Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted September 25, 2010 Report Share Posted September 25, 2010 i have seen white or lighter stains but they always make the wood look muddy to from my experience. instead of bringing out the grain they hide it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenspoke Posted September 25, 2010 Report Share Posted September 25, 2010 Best to invent strings that dont wear through paint, frets or stain light colored FB's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted September 25, 2010 Report Share Posted September 25, 2010 Holly is a very light cream color. Not completely white, but close. Maybe bleaching it will get it white. It has similar properties to ebony, except not oily. It is dense enough to not need a finish, but it will get dirty very quick. You can finish it, but you will wear through the finish at some point. You biggest problem with any light color is keeping it clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted September 25, 2010 Report Share Posted September 25, 2010 To be honest, I think you have your terminology all ass-cracked, upside-down and sideways, and what people 'think' you're asking, you're not really asking at all, that's why you're getting confusing answers, because your questions are very confusing to begin with. Please post some pics of examples of what you are asking for. No one here can really help you if we don't even know exactly what is is you're asking us for, but I totally understand, I talk to people all the time who don't know the right terminology to use and are trying to explain something with what terminology they DO have to work with, you just have to be able to read between the lines, which I'm trying to do here with you, but we need some more clarification to actually help you get there. Post a pic, it'll be very helpful. Post your experience level as well, it makes a difference how I answer posts if I know who I'm talking to and where they're at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy g Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 What about using epoxy or some type of fiberglass resin over the fretboard. Not sure about the long term durability of it, but you could make it any color you wish. Parker does it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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