Ebonising rosewood

[PinkMohawk]

Hey all, I'm gearing up for a project bass that I bought years ago and never got around to doing anything with. I'd prefer it to be a maple fretboard, but it's not, and I'm not willing to try removing and replacing it with maple, so instead I'm going to go with making the rosewood as pitch black as possible, so I'm turning to the experts here to see if anyone knows a way to turn rosewood as dark as possible without just painting it. 

[ossyrocks]

2 hours ago, PinkMohawk said:

Hey all, I'm gearing up for a project bass that I bought years ago and never got around to doing anything with. I'd prefer it to be a maple fretboard, but it's not, and I'm not willing to try removing and replacing it with maple, so instead I'm going to go with making the rosewood as pitch black as possible, so I'm turning to the experts here to see if anyone knows a way to turn rosewood as dark as possible without just painting it. 

 

I've had reasonable results with this stuff. I built a partscaster Tele a while back with a paleish rosewood board, it darkened up nicely and looked quite rich in the end. I've also used it on Les Pauls to give that deep rich Brazilian look.

 

I tend to warm up the surface of the wax with a hairdryer and then rub it in generously like shoe polish. Leave for a few minutes and then buff it out. Two or three repeats should make a noticeable difference.

 

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

 

Rob

 

[Noisyjon]

More good info here @PinkMohawk 

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/317641-staining-your-fingerboardphotos/

[PinkMohawk]

37 minutes ago, ossyrocks said:

 

I've had reasonable results with this stuff. I built a partscaster Tele a while back with a paleish rosewood board, it darkened up nicely and looked quite rich in the end. I've also used it on Les Pauls to give that deep rich Brazilian look.

 

I tend to warm up the surface of the wax with a hairdryer and then rub it in generously like shoe polish. Leave for a few minutes and then buff it out. Two or three repeats should make a noticeable difference.

 

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

 

Rob

 

I considered the wax, but I'm looking for less Brazilian rosewood (which is lovely) and more pitch black ebony. It'll probably make more sense when I finally get all the parts in and get to work on the bass itself, but it's going to be all black with gold hardware, and I want it pitch black. I've got an Epi Grabber/Ripper, can't remember which, that I repainted with that Black 2.0 paint which was great, but wear and tear has worn through the paint in a lot of places, and I want this bass to be jet black as much as possible. 

 

18 minutes ago, Noisyjon said:

More good info here @PinkMohawk 

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/317641-staining-your-fingerboardphotos/

That leather dye result looks the business, a few coats of it looks like it'll get as dark as I'm looking for. 

[kevin_lindsay]

I use dark chocolate leather dye, then lemon oil.

The end result is a lovely, rich, dark colour.

 

 

[King Tut]

10 hours ago, kevin_lindsay said:

I use dark chocolate leather dye, then lemon oil.

The end result is a lovely, rich, dark colour.

 

 

Do you do the side of the board as well?

[kevin_lindsay]

I lap the dye slightly over the edge. However,  the rosewood will darker when the lacquer is applied on the rear / sides of the neck.

 

 

[kevin_lindsay]

On this one, I used the vinegar and steel wool process. You can see the difference between the rosewood with lacquer applied (behind the nut slot on the headstock), and the fingerboard where I had applied the vinegar / steel wool solution. 

 

You simply put vinegar Nd steel wool into a glass container, then wait!! Depending upon the strength of the vinegar,  it can take between three / four days, and a couple of weeks to get the required darkening solution.

 

Applying the solution will darken the wood.  You can also use varying solution strength to darken maple - going from "dirty wood" to fully black.

 

 

[Jakester]

On 13/01/2025 at 15:53, PinkMohawk said:

That leather dye result looks the business, a few coats of it looks like it'll get as dark as I'm looking for. 

 

I should say I had a fingerboard which someone else had dyed with leather dye, and whilst it looked great, under 'vigorous' playing the dye tended to leach out over your fingers, staining them black. 

 

It is possible to impregnate wood with epoxy resin (often used to stabilise softer woods). You need a vacuum chamber or bag etc and the proper type of resin though, and not sure how it would work on a harder wood like rosewood. (Is it 'proper' rosewood?)

[PinkMohawk]

4 hours ago, Jakester said:

 

I should say I had a fingerboard which someone else had dyed with leather dye, and whilst it looked great, under 'vigorous' playing the dye tended to leach out over your fingers, staining them black. 

 

It is possible to impregnate wood with epoxy resin (often used to stabilise softer woods). You need a vacuum chamber or bag etc and the proper type of resin though, and not sure how it would work on a harder wood like rosewood. (Is it 'proper' rosewood?)

Damn, I've had enough of that from my poorly painted bass haha. Have you had that issue with the vinegar/steel wool solution? 

 

As for the 'properness' I'm not sure, it's a kit bass that I didn't pay a whole lot for, so I wouldn't be so sure. It's relatively dark for non-Brazilian rosewood already, but like I said, I'm looking for as close to that perfect ebony black as I can get it. In terms of strength for the vinegar/steel wool, is it just a matter of feeding as much steel wool into the vinegar as you can to make it stronger?

[Jakester]

2 hours ago, PinkMohawk said:

Damn, I've had enough of that from my poorly painted bass haha. Have you had that issue with the vinegar/steel wool solution? 

 

As for the 'properness' I'm not sure, it's a kit bass that I didn't pay a whole lot for, so I wouldn't be so sure. It's relatively dark for non-Brazilian rosewood already, but like I said, I'm looking for as close to that perfect ebony black as I can get it. In terms of strength for the vinegar/steel wool, is it just a matter of feeding as much steel wool into the vinegar as you can to make it stronger?

I’ve not tried the vinegar/steel wool thing, sorry. 

[kevin_lindsay]

I've never had any problems with using learher dye, having used it on over 20 instruments so far. I always use Fiebing's Leather Dye, which is spirit based. I apply it a few times, letting the dye seep into the grain and dry, before buffing and then applying lemon oil to set the colour.

 

When using vinegar  / steel wool, I once again let the solution seep into the grain and dry before buffing, and then applying lemon oil.

 

 

[Andyjr1515]

7 hours ago, kevin_lindsay said:

I always use Fiebing's Leather Dye

This

[PinkMohawk]

15 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

This

Quality, reckon I'll treat the body with it too, see how that comes out. Hopefully the uneven body wood colour doesn't cause an issue and make the blacks look uneven. 

[Bolo]

On 16/01/2025 at 10:31, PinkMohawk said:

Quality, reckon I'll treat the body with it too, see how that comes out. Hopefully the uneven body wood colour doesn't cause an issue and make the blacks look uneven. 

Light buff and a new coat, let dry, repeat untill satisfied.

[Andyjr1515]

On 16/01/2025 at 09:31, PinkMohawk said:

Quality, reckon I'll treat the body with it too, see how that comes out. Hopefully the uneven body wood colour doesn't cause an issue and make the blacks look uneven. 

Also, with a body, you have to be absolutely sure that you are down to bare wood before you start staining.  If it is a previously finished one, it can look like you are down to bare wood but there is often residue of clear original sealers, etc.  And no stain will cover those areas evenly.  But the same can happen with brand new, unfinished, bodies.

 

The test is to get a damp cloth and wipe it all over.  Clean bare wood will soak the moisture in and darken - any residue and the moisture will not soak in and will show up as light patches.  If you try to stain this, you will always have a slightly blotchy, uneven colour.  Preparing a body for a stained finish is surprisingly hard work! 

[PinkMohawk]

2 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Also, with a body, you have to be absolutely sure that you are down to bare wood before you start staining.  If it is a previously finished one, it can look like you are down to bare wood but there is often residue of clear original sealers, etc.  And no stain will cover those areas evenly.  But the same can happen with brand new, unfinished, bodies.

 

The test is to get a damp cloth and wipe it all over.  Clean bare wood will soak the moisture in and darken - any residue and the moisture will not soak in and will show up as light patches.  If you try to stain this, you will always have a slightly blotchy, uneven colour.  Preparing a body for a stained finish is surprisingly hard work! 

There's absolutely zero finish on this one, that I'm absolutely sure of. My main concern is that it's a two-piece body, with the two pieces being different colours, so I'm unsure if they'll take the stain in the same way. If it really goes to the dogs, I can always pick up a couple cans of Rustoleum and spray some black instead so it won't be the end of the world either way. 

[Andyjr1515]

With black stain it should be OK, but always useful to have a backup plan 🙂

[Happy Jack]

2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

... always useful to have a backup plan 🙂

 

[PinkMohawk]

4 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

With black stain it should be OK, but always useful to have a backup plan 🙂

Jack's got the right of it, if the stain doesn't work, might give one of those 'Shou Sugi Ban' finishes a go. Nice excuse to get the blowtorch out at least.