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Fretboard dyeing?

Baker69

Baker69

Mar 24, 2008
2,048
1,149
UK
#1
After having successfully dyed some furniture last weekend I was wondering whether anyone had dyed their fretboards?

I’ve just acquired a Fender Player Plus and whilst I do like the fingerboard I do not like the light coloured Pau Ferro. I’ve had years of having basses with rosewood fretboards and I would really love if I could dye mine to a colour something near to rosewood.

Any thoughts anyone?
 
#2
I'm not a great woodworker, but fretboards are treated to seal the wood, either with something like polyurathane or hardening oils. Unless you have a custom made neck that you KNOW is not sealed, you can be certain it has been sealed in some manner. As a result it probably won't take dye very well. There is also the problem of the neck wood catching bleed through of any dam you might try to make. IMO paint would be a better option and even that is a poor one. I'd leave it alone.
 
#3
You could just try oiling it and see if that darkens it up. I have a aftermarket Jazz neck that had a very light board when I got it. I thought it was pau ferro because of the color. I oiled it with boiled linseed oil and it darkened up very nicely and been that way for 30 years now.

I did dye an upright fingerboard once. I used black leather dye to make it look like ebony. It worked pretty well, though I had to wipe it down multiple times after it dried (over a multi-week period) because the dye would wear off on my fingers when I played for several weeks after the dye job was complete.
 
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#4
I've heard of people using india ink, leather dye (as MIMike said), or black wood stain. $tewmac actually sells india ink branded as fingerboard stain.
 
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#5
sissy kathy said:
I'm not a great woodworker, but fretboards are treated to seal the wood, either with something like polyurathane or hardening oils. Unless you have a custom made neck that you KNOW is not sealed, you can be certain it has been sealed in some manner. As a result it probably won't take dye very well. There is also the problem of the neck wood catching bleed through of any dam you might try to make. IMO paint would be a better option and even that is a poor one. I'd leave it alone.
Click to expand...

That makes sense, but I've seen a few people staining their rosewood (looking) fingerboards with no issues, so it may not be a problem after all.
 
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#6
As really black ebony has gotten more difficult to obtain there’s numerous orchestral instruments with fingerboards dyed black so it’s certainly possible. However, as mentioned above, even if it doesn’t look like it your fretboard most likely has a sealer on it so it may or may not take dye evenly.
 
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#7
MIMike said:
You could just try oiling it and see if that darkens it up. I have a aftermarket Jazz neck that had a very light board when I got it. I thought it was pau ferro because of the color. I oiled it with boiled linseed oil and it darkened up very nicely and been that way for 30 years now.
Click to expand...

I did the same with a rosewood board accidentally when I bought an unfinished Jazz replacement neck to use on a parts P bass build and it turned out great. I wasn't cautious enough when starting to put a Tru Oil finish on the neck and got some oil spots on the fretboard, and I decided to lean into it and oil up the whole board rather than leaving the spots or trying to figure out a way to remove them cleanly. It darkened up the board noticeably in a way I find pleasing, and as an unexpected side effect it also darkened the position dots on the face of the board in a way that looks to me like natural aging , which overall gives the neck a more "used" or vintage look and helps it vibe better with the 20+ year old body I installed it on.

OP might also want to do a search for "Kiesel treated fretboard," as Kiesel has been doing some exotic stuff with staining boards for a while now, although I think it is mainly for maple boards.
 
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#9
First off I recommend you just use lemon/fretboard oil. That will darken it atleast a little, and worst case scenario it will prevent sprout etc.
I was at a guitar expo today and they had a Fender avri ii JB on display, and I was amazed at the dryness of the board.. It's always part of my setup whenever I buy a new bass, and I do it atleast once a year to most of my basses due to dry winters.

Anyway, I dont remember why, but stuff like linseed oil isnt recommended. Likely cus a fretboard isnt just bare untreated wood.

I have, with luck, darkened the fretboard of a black epiphone SG bass I have, I dont remember if that was pau ferro or rosewood, but I used proper indian ink mixed with lemon oil and brushed it on with a small paint brush. Let it sit for 24 hrs then wiped it off. I got it almost pitch black.
Note that this will make it more ebony than rosewood tho, so I wouldnt recommend it if thats what youre after.

Likely your best option is the lemon oil from dunlop or similar. Treat it, let it sit, gently wipe off excess with a dry cloth. Repeat this once a month or so. It will also darken with use and age.

Best of luck!
 
#10
ric4682 said:
What you want is some Monty's fretboard conditioner with the stain in it.

Here
Click to expand...
Came here to say this. Works like a charm, I've used it on pau ferro several times, darkens it up nicely - looks like rosewood, does exactly what you want. One little container lasts a loooong time. It's pretty foolproof, and very, very easy to work with. Doesn't run like a liquid stain/ink.

www.montysguitars.com

Monty's Montypresso - The Original Guitar Relic Wax – Monty's Guitars

A MESSAGE FOR ALL USA CUSTOMERS - DUE TO ALL THE CHANGES WITH US CUSTOMS AND THE TARIFF SITUATION, PLEASE GO TO www.fu-tone.com FOR OUR WAXES - IT IS A MUCH FASTER, EASIER AND CHEAPER WAY OF GETTING WAXY! International customers click here to find your local dealers Ladies and Gentlemen...
www.montysguitars.com

No reason to mess with anything else.
 
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#12
mcnach said:
That makes sense, but I've seen a few people staining their rosewood (looking) fingerboards with no issues, so it may not be a problem after all.
Click to expand...
Rosewood, pau ferro, ebony, et al, the vast, vast majority of the time will be sealed with an oil of some type. They will take a stain fine.

Edit: and I should add that it's pretty easy to tell if the board is sealed with poly, etc. it's pretty rare on rosewood, unless you're playing a Ric.
 
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#13
mcnach said:
That makes sense, but I've seen a few people staining their rosewood (looking) fingerboards with no issues, so it may not be a problem after all.
Click to expand...
Rosewood, pau ferro, ebony, at all, the vast, vast majority of the time will be sealed with an oil of some type. They will take a stain fine
H K said:
Anyway, I dont remember why, but stuff like linseed oil isnt recommended. Likely cus a fretboard isnt just bare untreated wood.
Click to expand...
Regular linseed oil isn't recommended, but boiled linseed oil works great for fretboards and wood bodies.
 
#14
A few coats of the Old English Dark Wood oil darkened the laurel fretboard on my Squier enough to where I could live with it. Plus it was only $6 at Walmart.

Nothing beats a nice dark rosewood though. I could stare at the rosewood on my US Fender J all day, it’s beautiful.
 
#15
Swerve said:
A few coats of the Old English Dark Wood oil darkened the laurel fretboard on my Squier enough to where I could live with it. Plus it was only $6 at Walmart.

Nothing beats a nice dark rosewood though. I could stare at the rosewood on my US Fender J all day, it's beautiful.
Click to expand...

Laurel is a particularly easy wood to stain with its more open grain pattern. I did on my Squier fretless with minimal sanding prep work.
 
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#17
moon-bass said:
Came here to say this. Works like a charm, I've used it on pau ferro several times, darkens it up nicely - looks like rosewood, does exactly what you want. One little container lasts a loooong time. It's pretty foolproof, and very, very easy to work with. Doesn't run like a liquid stain/ink.

www.montysguitars.com

Monty's Montypresso - The Original Guitar Relic Wax – Monty's Guitars

A MESSAGE FOR ALL USA CUSTOMERS - DUE TO ALL THE CHANGES WITH US CUSTOMS AND THE TARIFF SITUATION, PLEASE GO TO www.fu-tone.com FOR OUR WAXES - IT IS A MUCH FASTER, EASIER AND CHEAPER WAY OF GETTING WAXY! International customers click here to find your local dealers Ladies and Gentlemen...
www.montysguitars.com

No reason to mess with anything else.
Click to expand...
I just ordered mine from UK. Thought I would have a go for fun. :thumbsup:
 
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#19
I had a G&L tribute in blue burst with a rosewood neck. I desperately wanted it to appear darker. I applied the stu mac ebony stain. No difference. Thinking there might have been a sealer of some kind
I then tried sanding snd mineral spirits first, then multiple coats. Result was darker BUY certainly not enough so to justify the time and effort. It really never seemed to absorb the stain deep enough into the pores of the wood to drastically make it really dark.

Hopefully your experience will be more fruitful and less frustrating
 

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