"Ebonize" Laurel fretboard: stain, dye or ink?

Рет қаралды 4,902

Күн бұрын

In this video I test out Varathane Classic Black, Higgin's India Ink, Fiebing's Leather Dye, RIT Jet Black and Minwax Ebony stain on a Laurel fretboard blank. If you're thinking of "ebonizing" your fretboard, I highly recommend watching this video all the way through. I hope you find it helpful.
Intro 0:00-2:12
Varathane Classic Black 2:13-3:44
Higgin's India Ink 3:45-6:03
Fiebing's Leather Dye 6:04-7:54
RIT Jet Black 7:55-10:00
Minwax Ebony 10:01-11:25
Overhead view 11:26-13:06
Different lighting 13:07-14:33
Second coat 14:34-15:01
Different sheens 15:02-16:45
Fiebing's/RIT shortcomings 16:46-17:26
Steel wool 17:27-18:48
Higgin's water test 18:49-19:55
Oiling the fretboard/Final thoughts 19:56-End
Link to the fretboard blanks:
www.ebay.com/itm/303185690131...

Пікірлер: 45

@flppr1 3 ай бұрын

Great video. Thx for your efforts.

@AS-pb7vu Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video , really helped me

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 Жыл бұрын

My pleasure. I'm glad it was helpful!

@TheDeedeeFiles Жыл бұрын

Awesome work

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@Ari_Calamari Жыл бұрын

Tbh, I really liked the look of the leather dye. That sheen looks really nice to me. Also the fact that it stains the tape, makes me think it will work better to stain the painter edges of a fingerboard(which many boards have). Also if you don’t want it on your or inlays, I heard you can just use some fret rubbers to remove it. The reason it stained the tape is because the surface is fibrous. Fortunately most plastic isn’t. Also if you wanna keep stain from rubbing off, I might use a thin layer of renaissance wax or similar. As for India ink, the one I’ve seen recommended is speedball super black India ink. It’s quite popular. It’s waterproof, so you don’t have the bleeding problem from sweat.

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 Жыл бұрын

Excellent tips! Very helpful. Thanks for commenting!

@jordan-c-bay Жыл бұрын

Thanks for doing this experiment. Looks like Varathane is a winner, was surprised at how poorly Minwax did. I might have to reconsider using Minwax stains in general…

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 Жыл бұрын

My pleasure. I'm glad you found it helpful!

@lasv155 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for this video brother.

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 Жыл бұрын

My pleasure!

@timothysmith294 Жыл бұрын

Really informative video... if you havent yet.. you should maybe do a light laurel to brown video for all the epiphone 59 buyers

@adriancordova5534 Жыл бұрын

For me, the fiebing’s leather dye looked the best.

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 Жыл бұрын

I'm guessing you didn't watch the whole video.

@Bluesruse 8 ай бұрын

First time coloring a fretboard (roasted jatoba). Really helpful content, thanks!

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 8 ай бұрын

My pleasure!

@gabrielsilveira84 5 ай бұрын

Was that on a LTD guitar? I just got one with a roasted jatoba neck and want to darken it ASAP. How did it work for you?

@Bluesruse 5 ай бұрын

@@gabrielsilveira84 Worked out great! Yeah an LTD eclipse with pearl inlays and ivory binding. I ended up using a spree/alcohol based wood dye, because that will be immune to the water and oils of your fingers, so technically it's the "correct" dye to use. A word of caution though, that an alcohol based dye will make a much bigger mess of your inlays and bindings, so nail polish remover (rubbing alcohol) is needed (can also try a razor but rubbing alcohol worked fine for me). And if you don't have a binding running through the fretboard, then the job should be much easier. Looks absolutely stunning. Good luck!

@gabrielsilveira84 5 ай бұрын

@@Bluesruse Great to hear! Mine is a matte black M201 and I can't wait to get rid of the brown on the fretboard to make it full black.

@Xeridae Жыл бұрын

I think it makes sense that the Varathane would give the most consistent and long lasting result (personal opinions on how it looks aside). This is unfinished wood so any fret board that is unfinished will obviously take a wood stain better than any other product. I was actually more surprised that there were recommendations out there for things like india ink and cloth dye that are not in anyway meant to permanently change the color of wood. I appreciate all the work you put into this test.

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 Жыл бұрын

Thank you very much!

@TedCurran Жыл бұрын

You can get waterproof India Ink -- I used it on a body I'm working on and was very happy with the color, even happier once I did a layer of shellac and then Tru-Oil on top. That sealed the color in and changed it from the dull brownish black you got to a rich, shiny REAL black. I'm thinking of doing India Ink again on the neck, followed only by Tru-oil (that's my thinking now, still researching).

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 Жыл бұрын

Cool. I'd love to see some pics of your results, or even better, a video. Got any links?

@TedCurran Жыл бұрын

@@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 I"ll pull them together today and post. Well, the neck came and I got to work doing india ink on it, and I was surprised that it stained the ornate vine inlay, so I had to scrub the color back to reveal the inlay again. This brings me to a new rule of luthiering -- don't do something to your guitar without knowing how to UNDO it. Luckily the ink scrubbed back partially with some alcohol but it appears there's a little residue on the inlays. Again I'll post before and after pics later today.

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 Жыл бұрын

@@TedCurran sounds good. I love seeing other people's projects.

@nieko3038 9 ай бұрын

Just bought a small bottle of waterproof indian ink from Winsor & Newton. The bottle says it contains shellac. Don’t know if that is ok for the purpose of darkening the fretboard. It is not penetrating the wood I think so its on top of the fretboard. I went from this video with non waterproof to another who used that and had no issues with black vingers after using oil.

@jedfiekel9809 Жыл бұрын

Awesome video! Idk if you remember me telling you, on the one i did, i used the varathane black (got that idea from your video) and it was still showing some rosewood through and i used the fiebings over the top of that and ended up with a perfect black after that. Maybe i didnt explain it right. That sheen did go away after a few days on mine. Could be different with different woods too. Ive tried using the fiebings around inlays real carefully with an angled artist paintbrush and was able to avoid and bleeding into the inlays. So maybe just touching up spots that are still showing wood through with fiebings after using varathane is the ticket.

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 Жыл бұрын

Hey Jed, I thought your name looked familiar. I remember now, though I didn't recall that conversation before making this video. I have another fretboard blank. Maybe I'll try your method on it! Thanks for the extremely helpful comment!

@Joe24248 Жыл бұрын

Really enjoy your content, I like the videos where you review guitars. I had a few ideas, maybe you could start reviewing a different brand, like Ibanez or something and see how those brands stack up against a Jackson. Just an idea.

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 Жыл бұрын

Thanks! My buddy has an Iron Series Xiphos on the way. In the future, I may review it and compare it to my X Series Warrior.

@emompong05 Жыл бұрын

Hey man, really awesome stuff to do this experiment. Have you had any experiences darkening a Pau Ferro Board? Which stain do you think will work best on them and the preparation I must do? Thanks!

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 Жыл бұрын

Great question. I have never stained a Pau Ferro board. I have done a few Rosewood and Laurel boards using the Varathane Classic Black. I recommend using that product. Here's a video outlining the process: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o9OXdq16l5nFgZ8.html

@DrCarlosMusic 7 ай бұрын

Just finished "ebonizing" My guitar with the Varathane Ebony I got a nice solid black it appears to me that you have to let it cure overnight ensure the paint if fully dry before rubbing it back off. Seems like the war is really won when you sand down the fretboard I'm not so sure I completely removed the wax finish the factory uses. I did this to a Randy Rhoads RX7

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 7 ай бұрын

I'm glad you got a good result!

@seongbok6147 Жыл бұрын

Varathan classic black

@Endz510 2 ай бұрын

Have you tried an actual ebonize technique. Put a wad of .000 steel wool in a jar of white vinegar, let it sit for a few hours then you can apply multiple applications until you get the desired color. For even darker you can run a wet bag of Black tea inbetween coats as the tannins help. It’s a common carpenters technique and works great, No residue at all.

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 2 ай бұрын

Yes, I've heard of this method. Never tried it though. I'm happy with the results using the Varathane classic black and I wasn't confident in getting the mixture right with the method you are talking about. But yes, I've heard good things about the vinegar/steel wool technique.

@Endz510 2 ай бұрын

@@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 thanks for the reply. I’m looking at darkening my board too. Was hoping to find a video of someone doing that. Your results look pretty good… now I just need to courage to give it a shot.

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 2 ай бұрын

@@Endz510 check out this one I did. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o9OXdq16l5nFgZ8.htmlsi=tfcIvTlvoJ76R4aj

@Moshbearpig Жыл бұрын

So is it possible to get a fretboard almost 100% black by just adding more coats of dye to it or is there a point of diminishing returns?

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 Жыл бұрын

That is a great question. I can't answer it myself, unfortunately.

@AedanBlackheart Жыл бұрын

Why not just paint it black?

@tobins6800 Жыл бұрын

The difference between dyes and stains are miles apart. Dyes sit on the wood and will wash away with water. Stains react with something to change the color and will not wash away with water. I have used vinegaroon (steel wool dissolved in vinegar) to color leather and wood. If the wood doesn't react well, you can add more tannins to it using coffee or tea. Ever notice on pallets where the nails are is black? Iron reacts with tannins to create black. In veg tan leather, that reaction is instant and permanent. To neutralize the vinegar use Bar Keepers Friend.