Does anyone know what products are traditionally used to dye non-ebony fingerboards black? I have an old fiddle lying around that could use a little...
Why have it black? A natural colour non-ebony wood can be quite attractive. Anyway, dye can rub off with use, leaving the original lighter wood exposed, which looks worse, to my mind.
I had 3/4 bass made from plywood with the fingerboard painted black. I stripped it off and was it ever beautiful underneath that ugly mess! Someone had installed an expensive fingerboard on a jalopy without realizing it, probably because it was painted over in the first place.
I agree that rosewood fingerboards in particular look good as they are. But if you have an old stained fingerboard that the stain has worn down on, staining it again might be the best way to restore it. Otherwise you'd have to sand it down, I imagine.
This link is fun - shows the steps making a workable instrument from a chinese vso (violin shaped object)
part way through you can see the fingerboard being scraped clean (reprofiled) and redyed. http://hmi.homewood.net/vso/
It's a rosewood fingerboard that has been dyed black, but as many other similar fiddles, the polular fingering positions have caused certain lighter spots. The fingerboard WILL be sanded down to get rid of bumbs and dings, but then I'd like to dye it all uniform black, to give a better look.
Fiddle Fingerboard Dye
Fiddle Fingerboard Dye
Does anyone know what products are traditionally used to dye non-ebony fingerboards black? I have an old fiddle lying around that could use a little...
//Lars
# Posted on April 15th 2008 by Larshansen
Re: Fiddle Fingerboard Dye
Why have it black? A natural colour non-ebony wood can be quite attractive. Anyway, dye can rub off with use, leaving the original lighter wood exposed, which looks worse, to my mind.
# Posted on April 15th 2008 by lazyhound
Re: Fiddle Fingerboard Dye
I had 3/4 bass made from plywood with the fingerboard painted black. I stripped it off and was it ever beautiful underneath that ugly mess! Someone had installed an expensive fingerboard on a jalopy without realizing it, probably because it was painted over in the first place.
# Posted on April 15th 2008 by monkey440
Re: Fiddle Fingerboard Dye
This site has fingerboard stain listed:
http://www.violins.on.ca/varsup.html
I agree that rosewood fingerboards in particular look good as they are. But if you have an old stained fingerboard that the stain has worn down on, staining it again might be the best way to restore it. Otherwise you'd have to sand it down, I imagine.
# Posted on April 15th 2008 by Marklar
Re: Fiddle Fingerboard Dye
This link is fun - shows the steps making a workable instrument from a chinese vso (violin shaped object)
part way through you can see the fingerboard being scraped clean (reprofiled) and redyed.
http://hmi.homewood.net/vso/
# Posted on April 15th 2008 by spindizzy
Re: Fiddle Fingerboard Dye
Thanks for your help.
It's a rosewood fingerboard that has been dyed black, but as many other similar fiddles, the polular fingering positions have caused certain lighter spots. The fingerboard WILL be sanded down to get rid of bumbs and dings, but then I'd like to dye it all uniform black, to give a better look.
//Lars
# Posted on April 15th 2008 by Larshansen