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I've been looking into the use of Fiebling's (the stuff Stew-Mac sells as "black fingerboard stain") to ebonize a rosewood fretboard. From what I can find in my searches, there's a broad spectrum of opinion on this stuff. Some have said there are problems with the dye staining fingers long after application. Some seem to feel it has a "magic marker" look to it. Some have seemingly used it with great success and no complaints.

So...what's your personal experience with it? If you've used it succesfully, what are your application techniques? Can it be used to darken a fretboard without turning it jet black, so the grain still shows?

I look forward to your responses. If you have pictures, please post them!

Thanks,

Zac

I used it to dye a walnut bridge and truss rod cover on my last zouk build. It looked good but easily smudged off when rubbed with my fingers, well after it dried. If I did it again I might try wiping on the stain, letting it dry, then rubbing it down with a paper towel, then repeat until it's dark enough and no more stain will rub off. Not sure if that would work or not, just a thought.

The bottle the dye comes in seems to make a mess. It's thin cheap plastic with a clumsy lid. I would consider transferring the contents to a nice screw top 4 oz glass jar designed for air brushes.

The grain will still show, but it will dye jet black, unless you wipe off the excess as mentioned above, and/or maybe apply a very light coat. I would be reluctant to use this stuff on a fretboard because it gets touched so much. But perhaps if you get all the excess wiped off it would work ok. Test on scrap first.

Zac buddy I've used it and it does come off for a while and then basically stays put. A very well known boutique f*ctory on the east coast also uses it and I noticed it when I was there and asked. They like it. Can't name names because I was exposed to how they do things and they might not appreciate me spilling my guts especially when this thread may at some point end up not promoting it's use.

I know that you wanna ebonize rosewood but if you could live with the rosewood being three shades darker, the figure popped beautifully, and the board nicely protected for a while until the next application Howard Feed & Wax is a bit of a trade secret in the industry (not anymore..... ) and we love the stuff and use it everyday and have used it on thousands of instruments. It's a nice wax with no bad habits and rather immediate gratification, just the way I like it....

Oiling is an option too and LMI has an oil that I have and use at times that will blacken a great deal, stays put, and only several drops will do an entire fretboard.

Ya...is ok...a few drops of waterborn stuff help it stay put.

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I've dyed cheap violin fingerboards (not ebony or rosewood) with it. It doesn't penetrate very deeply and sometimes leaves a bluish cast. For rosewood I would use mineral oil (woodwind bore oil) to darken it a few shades, and reapply it periodically.
You could probably dilute the leather dye with alcohol to get a less than complete dyed effect. (test on scrap)

It really dresses up the edge of the soles of a pair of combat boots and low quarters when spit shining. Fiebings, Kiwi wax and Brasso are smells that bring back memories for me.

Thanks everyone for your responses...I think "ebonize" was the wrong word to use in my original post. I'm not after a jet black fretboard, I'd like to darken the rosewood significantly while still being able to see the figure. I'm hoping to pair it with a Macassar Ebony headplate and would like the colors to match up a little better.

Hesh, the Howard Feed & Wax and LMI oil both sound like they would work for what I'm trying to do. Does the oil darken the wood significantly more than the wax? What is your application method? Is it possible (or advisable) to apply several coats of either over a period of time for a darker effect? The board has not been fretted yet and I probably won't get around to it for several more weeks, possibly longer. Is it ok to treat the board now, or should I wait until after installing the frets?

Gil, thanks for the pics...that headstock is beautiful!

I've used Howard's feed and wax on furniture. It will both oil and wax the fingerboard and like mineral oil will need to be renewed periodically. It is mostly petroleum distillates (mineral oil, naphtha) with a little bit of wax and orange oil added.
I would bet that LMI's oil is basically mineral oil sold in small quantities for a high price(as is woodwind bore oil). Mineral oil soaks in fairly well and can turn some rosewoods jet black. I have had dark Brazilian rosewood look like African blackwood after treating it with mineral oil. It will darken EIR several shades darker, but not to the extent is does dark BRW.

Looks like the oil is my best bet to get the look I'm after. I'll do some tests on scrap and see how it turns out.