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Hi

Looking at my ebony fretboard and its not as black as i was expecting
Sanded it gradually upto 1500 grit and tried some feed and wax but its just not as dark as some of the pics i have seen on here..its like a bit "hazy"
Am i missing something

Cheers

That looks normal for the ebony goug around these days.

Looks like ebony to me. Some ebony has more brown in it.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Thanks ..Maybe the pics i have seen they have used tru oil? or finished with something because mine looks really hazy compared

I think it looks great -- like wood! You can use Fiebing's Oil dye to make it black as pitch. Factories and boutiques builders use it all the time.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

I thought there must be a trick... might be messy though.. thanks ken

I would agree, it looks great....like real wood, not black plastic. But if you really do want it pitch black, there are several dyes that will get you there.

Grant

If you want it darker without dye, oil will darken it a lot more than wax. I realize some folks have strong opinions on this, but I always oil my fingerboards with walnut oil. Let it dry, then wax.

I think it looks great too! The black dye will make it black, but you can use dark furniture polish like Old English and it will darken it up some.

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Pat

Mineral oil will usually darken it some. Finger oils also do, but add some grunge as well. The wood will darken some with time. Most of the black dyes leave a less than natural look to the wood, sometimes a blueish cast, sometimes make the wood look"dead".
I think it looks nice as is.

Linseed oil will darken it but still leave it looking like wood. Take the wax off with naphtha and a rag, apply the boiled linseed oil sparingly. I doubt you want it to look varnished! Linseed oil takes a couple of days to dry around here. May take longer where you are.

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Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au

If you dye it, be aware it might show up on the players fingertips. If this is your guitar, then no worries. I like what I'm reading regarding linseed oil. Never tried that, but I might.

An option to the linseed oil is one coat of Tru-oil or one of the other wiping oil/varnish/poly formulas.

Leave it alone.
It looks great!
Next time, make sure it's the black ebony.
Is that Macassar ebony?
I think it's not as black as ebony usually is.

Hi Alan its indian ebony i believe..first time uding it.. general census seems to be to leave it

It is beautiful wood.

If you need it to to be jet black, use leather dye, two/three applications, after radiusing the fingerboard, before fretting.

This man knows now how black ebony usually is (video link starts at 6:27, the story takes about 3 minutes to listen to):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anCGvfs ... be&t=6m27s

I don't mean to spoil your or anybody's joy owning, or working in any form with jet black ebony, but spreading knowledge and awareness can't be a bad thing.

I use tung oil on my fretboards (similar to boiled linseed oil). A couple swipes after fretting then leave it for a few days, then a light hand buff.


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Mineral oil seems to soak in and darken wood better than linseed oil. It doesn't build up or dry like linseed oil, and is what is used on wood winds as bore oil (which is also used on the exterior to keep black wood nice and black). Some folks use both - mineral oil to clean fretboards, and linseed oil to top coat.

I/ve used black shoe dye to darken Indian streaky ebony, followed by waxing ,(food wax) used in jams and sanding with 400 grit and a rag to buff out the FB.on violins. I have some NGR ebony stain , but it is bluish. Gaboon ebony hard to find is jet black.One can also use a vinegar./steel wool stain to hide streaks.