Darkening a fretboard…

JerEvil

JerEvil

Well-known member
Hey all. I got this Iceman a while back and love it. It’s always had a light board though and would look way better darker.

I got some India Ink brush pens as I wanted to. It fuck up the inlays. Not really sure how to prep the fretboard though.

Anyone else here done this? Would love some advice.

IMG_9344.jpeg
 
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I've used India Ink to darken fretboards; I had no issues with inlays or binding. Make sure it's not waterproof.

This is what I used:




91ZVi4t1bIL._AC_SY679_.jpg
 
I've used Fiebings Leather dye several times.

I wipe the board with naphtha to remove as much oil and gunk as possible. Then apply the dye. Usually with a q tip but I've used a paint brush before to avoid binding. You want to avoid the binding, you have some time to wipe it off but if it lingers on the binding you'll have to scrape it off.

Once applied, I usually buff it off with a cloth pretty vigorously to remove excess. A pencil eraser can help get it off inlay. Then apply some fretboard oil.

Once it's dry and been played a few times, it doesn't come off on your fingers any more. Lots of manufacturers are dying fretboards it seems and it's fine.
 
Posted this earlier in your TGF thread but I'll post it here too


I did it on a dot Warmoth ebony fingerboard with Fiebing's black leather dye to get it even blacker

Didn't do anything special preparation-wise aside from deliberately trying to avoid the dots; came out great

As I recall the inlays resisted the dye so it was no issue, but I wouldn't assume that to be the case for all of them
 
JerEvil said:
Kick ass! So NOT waterproof? Any reason why? Also, you didn’t have to mask off your inlays?

Did you prep the board any kind of way or just let it rip?
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I didn't do anything to the board; I wiped off any ink on the binding and inlays as best I could. I probably did several coats, and let it soak in and dry several hours between. Before each coat, I wiped the fretboard down with paper towels.

Even after it dries, it came off my inlays and binding - though you may want to test it first, before doing the whole fretboard, just in case. My inlays are plastic and not porous.

I think the waterproof could potentially stain inlays and binding, like a sharpie?

I got the ink on Amazon, IIRC, it's the same as Stew mac users?

edit: my guitars were new when I did this, so I just wiped down the fretboards...if your guitar is older/used, you should clean the fretboard and let it dry so it soaks up the ink
 
mbt64 said:



https://www.montysguitars.com/collections/guitar-care/products/montys-montypresso-relic-wax


I haven't tried the relic wax, which is supposed to darken the fretboard. I have used their original wax for cleaning and conditioning the board, it does a good job. .
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This might be good after staining with India Ink or leather dye to lock in the ink / dye. I haven't had issues with the ink coming off the board onto my hands, but I'm not playing gigs under lights / outdoors or sweating a lot.
 
rsm said:
I didn't do anything to the board; I wiped off any ink on the binding and inlays as best I could. I probably did several coats, and let it soak in and dry several hours between. Before each coat, I wiped the fretboard down with paper towels.

Even after it dries, it came off my inlays and binding - though you may want to test it first, before doing the whole fretboard, just in case. My inlays are plastic and not porous.

I think the waterproof could potentially stain inlays and binding, like a sharpie?

I got the ink on Amazon, IIRC, it's the same as Stew mac users?

edit: my guitars were new when I did this, so I just wiped down the fretboards...if your guitar is older/used, you should clean the fretboard and let it dry so it soaks up the ink
Click to expand...
Thanks for all the input. I did a quick search and saw this. The brush pens I got are waterproof. I have to assume the inlays Ibanez used are plastic, but that’s just a guess.

IMG_9346.png
 
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Maybe the Stewmac Fretboard Finishing oil will make it look dark enough for you. Maybe you can always try that first.
 
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