India Ink Fretboard Ebonizing

[Mudlark]

Before pic.

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[Number Of The Priest]

That before pic, that's your JS3 bass neck?

This rainy week, I will be ebonizing my fretboard(s) and documenting the progress. Mudlark's thread has been very encouraging!

[Mudlark]

Yes, the bass, and it's being a bitch.

Friggin' minwax is making it hard to get an even coat. 3rd coat will get it close enough.

I pray a fresh board will be ideal.

[Number Of The Priest]

That pic shows "before Minwax" or "before Speedball"? It's quite "normal" looking rosewood and very medium brown if it had been treated with Minwax. Can't imagine how light it would have been BEFORE Minwax!

[Mudlark]

Yes, that 2 coats of minwax. Damn stuff.

These small pics are the result of having to down size my original pics in order to load them on imagebucket. My camera is set to the lowest size, so I'll have to deal or find another sharing site.

LEFT: I find taping over the shark fin in order to get the strip next to the fret is best for keeping it off the inlay. I taped each one then put 3 coats over that section before removing the tape and finishing the remainder. I was experimenting with tape and the side closest to the camera actually has clear packing tape over the binding, though it can't be seen.

RIGHT: This was after 3 aggravating coats. It's not perfect, but it good enough for this bass. It still needs the binding/inlays/frets cleaned up.

NOTE: I got anxious and wiped the board with mineral oil (as seen in the finished pic) as soon as it dried. After wiping excess oil away I noticed a bit of ink on the napkin. Whether it will stop shedding oil in the future, or what caused it, I have no answer. I'll play it later to see if it comes off on my fingers.

I'm expecting better results with the fresh board. The minwax in my opinion is keeping it from sinking in well.
If the new neck works out I'll try some mineral oil on the current DKMGT neck and see if it affects the ink after being dry for a week.

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[Number Of The Priest]

Looking great so far. I did one coat on a couple alternating fretspaces on my Yamaha acoustic, and though I was careful "painting" on the ink, I still got some on the frets. After I'm done, I hope steel wooling the fretboard and frets will remove the ink from the frets. How did you clean up your frets on your DKMG?

[Mudlark]

I kept the tops of the frets wiped clean with my finger as I was doing it. After I've finished I used my fretboard protector from StewMac and used steel wool. You could just use tape on either side of the fret to protect the board and use wool. Frets are no problem, the inlays are best to avoid as much as possible because it's a pain getting it off without hitting the wood surrounding the inlay. It'll scrape off the frets with just your fingernail when dry.

I assume the minwax kept mine from sinking deeply into the wood, so steel wool rubbed my ink off. On a fresh board it may not.

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[Mudlark]

Seems mineral oil will loosen it up. I did this DK2T neck and oiled it a couple days later and a bit came off on a cloth.

The neck won't work on my DKMGT. It leaves the body at a different angle than my neck. Must be the archtop vs flat top requiring slightly different neck heels. Fits the pocket, though.

I might have been able to make it work after thinking about it. May have just needed a major raising of the bridge.

Anyway, I can say steel wool with take it off of anything , including the fret board. I cleaned the ink all off the DK2T neck with wool.

Looks good on my DKMGT. Should be safe if I don't oil it. Considering my house is plenty humid, shouldn't need oil.

[Mudlark]

I wonder if it'll be durable like the Feibings.

Apparently not. I assume the Feibings allows for conditioning the board without loosening it up?

I expect steel wool would probably take the dye off, too.

[xenophobe]

Yeah, Feibings can be conditioned... but steel wool will take it off.

[Mudlark]

I picked a bottle of Feibings up in town today. I'll do a side by side test against the ink on another thread.
I've got a neck to experiment on.

[TKEblue]

Please do. And also, was there any signs of the experiment on the new neck after you wooled it? Would you say it's completely reversible?

[Number Of The Priest]

An update. My Speedball india ink staining project failed BIG TIME. I'm embarrassed to even show any photos.

To my dismay, the india ink didn't really penetrate into the rosewood fretboard of my Yamaha FG700MS.

I first applied a thin coat and blotted the excess (I believe that's somewhat similar to what Mudlark did on his Jackson DKMGT) and let it dry. It looked patchy, so I repeated the process with a second coat of ink.

Then, I decided to go "mad scientist" and really slather the ink on the fretboard, brushing a nice thick layer of ink on the whole board. Naturally, some ink splashed onto the frets, but I figured I would be steel wooling the fretboard and frets to clean everything up at the end anyway.

I let that sit for two to three weeks. I can't remember exactly, but I felt that was sufficient time for the ink to penetrate the wood. Plus, I was busy.

Today I steel wooled everything. I was heartbroken (yet not completely surprised) that the ink came off easily. Slightly frustrated, I vigorously steel wooled everything to remove all traces of ink, cleaning the frets and fretboard simultaneously. The steel wool even removed the Minwax ebony pen treatment I applied before. The fretboard now looks factory stock, a nice brown rosewood with natural variation in grain. At least it's back to normal.

I simply restrung the guitar and I won't be investing any more time and effort exploring ebonizing of rosewood until there is a simple, guaranteed method that won't rub off with steel wool, lemon oil, fingers, fingernails, or any other normal fretboard/fret maintenance. In the meantime, I have gained a new appreciation for naturally dark rosewood.

[Guitarkid8]

An update. My Speedball india ink staining project failed BIG TIME. I'm embarrassed to even show any photos.

To my dismay, the india ink didn't really penetrate into the rosewood fretboard of my Yamaha FG700MS.

I first applied a thin coat and blotted the excess (I believe that's somewhat similar to what Mudlark did on his Jackson DKMGT) and let it dry. It looked patchy, so I repeated the process with a second coat of ink.

Then, I decided to go "mad scientist" and really slather the ink on the fretboard, brushing a nice thick layer of ink on the whole board. Naturally, some ink splashed onto the frets, but I figured I would be steel wooling the fretboard and frets to clean everything up at the end anyway.

I let that sit for two to three weeks. I can't remember exactly, but I felt that was sufficient time for the ink to penetrate the wood. Plus, I was busy.

Today I steel wooled everything. I was heartbroken (yet not completely surprised) that the ink came off easily. Slightly frustrated, I vigorously steel wooled everything to remove all traces of ink, cleaning the frets and fretboard simultaneously. The steel wool even removed the Minwax ebony pen treatment I applied before. The fretboard now looks factory stock, a nice brown rosewood with natural variation in grain. At least it's back to normal.

I simply restrung the guitar and I won't be investing any more time and effort exploring ebonizing of rosewood until there is a simple, guaranteed method that won't rub off with steel wool, lemon oil, fingers, fingernails, or any other normal fretboard/fret maintenance. In the meantime, I have gained a new appreciation for naturally dark rosewood.

I would suggest the steel wool & vinegar method since it is a chemical reaction.

[Mudlark]

That's too bad. Aside from the mineral oil loosening it up mine are still perfect.

My boards with minwax didn't penetrate as well as the un-minwaxed board, but it did penetrate in a couple minutes and was dry to the touch in minutes. The minwax has a sealer that I expect causes this issue.