Les Paul - Modification Diary

nick_s

OK, so, I thought I'd start a thread for this process.  Modification I hear you ask?

Well, when I bought my Les Paul Studio, I always remembered the Studios having ebony boards, and I loved the black/white look.  Imagine my surprise when I was browsing to find they now came with granadillo fretboards.  No problem I hear you ask, so I spoke to the dealer who said they are quite light in colour.  Now I paid my money and took my chances and low and behold it was indeed very light (as the pictures show).  I didn't mind, all I really wanted was the tone, and it sounded divine (or as divine as a 498T/490R loaded Les Paul can).

Move forward a few years and I now have the itch to modify the Les Paul.  I'm looking toward darkening the fretboard and changing out the pickguard for something a little more carbon fibre (I've got a local company where I can get a sheet of impregnated carbon sheet to custom cut a new guard).

So, the things I can start are the fretboard preparation.  I have scraped the nitro from the side of the board underneath (the side without the side dots), and boy that was fun.  I masked up and took a sharp blade, scraping carefully along the whole length.  Now it transpires that Gibson decided that they would use a fretboard that was narrower than the neck, and build up the width with at least 1mm of nitro on each side!  Crazy.  Now, once scraped, I took some 240 grit and smoothed out the edge so it feels nice and smooth.  I then went and took my prepared iron acetate and tested a patch on a scrap of wood.  It failed.  Now granted, the solution is 2 years old, and not very black any more, so I have binned that batch and have started batch 2.

For those not in the know, Iron Acetate reacts with tannin in the wood, causing it to turn black.  This is why you see black marks around steel screws in wood such as oak, the iron has reacted causing a stain.

Back to the Lester.  Here's some pictures I've taken already showing the current state of play.

Guard off/on - I think I prefer it on, so will definitely go with the carbon fibre guard:



Masking up:



Let the scraping commence:



Now I can imagine many are wondering why I am doing this to a USA Gibson, well, for one I intend on keeping the guitar.  I can add nitro to the edges of the board again to restore the same feel.  If worst comes to the worst and I don't like it after, well, I can always pay a luthier to install a new fretboard.  Granted it won't be original, but that point is moot as I don't intend on selling the guitar

So, now I face a week long wait whilst the iron acetate forms.  I did toy with the idea of staining it with Indian Ink, but that leaves a coating that can come off, this iron acetate chemically changes the wood so will not wear off.

nick_s

So, just to show how the iron acetate is made.  It's a very simple process.  Get one glass jar with a lid, insert 0000 steel wool, and pour on some vinegar (white or cider is best).  There are two reasons there is not a lot of vinegar on it at the moment:

1) I 'wet' the wool so as to start the reaction, leaving it wet but exposed to oxygen = quicker corrosion
2) I need more white vinegar  

It's about a week to get it going nicely, at which point I will add some extra tannin to the wood by way of strong tea just wiped on.  Then, when that has mostly dried and the board is lightly damp, I paint on the iron acetate, triggering the reaction.

Here's my starter:



You can see after about an hour, there is corrosion already.

Credit for the below picture goes to the Woodworkers Guild of America, it shows how effective this process is:



7 days will be quite some time to wait me thinks!

paulnb57

Interesting, looking forward to updates...

nick_s

paulnb57 said:

Interesting, looking forward to updates...

Me too  It can go one of two ways.  Epic fail or fantastically.  I'm hoping for the latter but prepared for the former.  

Nomad

How deep does the iron acetate colour change go? Can it be fine sanded afterwards and still have the stain, or does it quickly get back to the original wood colour?

DannyP

Fascinating, I'll be watching with interest!

nick_s

Nomad said:

How deep does the iron acetate colour change go? Can it be fine sanded afterwards and still have the stain, or does it quickly get back to the original wood colour?

DannyP said:

Fascinating, I'll be watching with interest!

Nomad - It depends how wet you get the wood.  I've seen some results go reasonably deep, others less so with a light coat of the solution.  I will treat it like any other stain and assume not very deep given the density of the wood

DannyP - it will HOPEFULLY be interesting, otherwise you'll see me crying into my cornflakes  

Progress update on the solution, the wool is rusting nicely and the vinegar has turned a nice shade of orange.  I will top up the solution with more vinegar today and fingers crossed by the weekend I'll have some solution to test with.

nick_s

OK, so nothing major, just to show the progress the solution is making.  Added some cider vinegar to the mix now the corrosion has started, and this is where we're at after day 1.





Looks pretty minging, but it's getting there.  When it's nice and black it will be ready.

WezV

I have a jar of black stuff on my kitchen window as we speak

nick_s

WezV said:

I have a jar of black stuff on my kitchen window as we speak

The same (chemically) black stuff or are we talking a Ramsey Kitchen Nightmare?  

Anyhoo, here is how it looks this morning, a little more colour to it:

WezV

Well it's red wine vinegar that had been in the cupboard for years... but yeah, the same idea.  It's been there two weeks at this point.

nick_s

Day four of the Iron Acetate 'brewing'.  It's noticeably blacker now.



Getting near to being ready to go.  I've got the filters ready to rock.  Once the wood has been treated, I'll let it dry for a week before building up the sides with clear nitro.

Deadman

Looking forward to seeing this!

nick_s

Deadman said:

Looking forward to seeing this!

Thank you sir!  I only hope the end results justify the build up  

breakstuff

Interesting. I've got a cheapy Les Paul with a really pale fretboard and I was thinking of darkening it using leather dye.I was worried about the dye staining the fret markers though so haven't done it yet.

@nick_s do you know of any potential effects your method will have on the plastic fret markers?

nick_s

breakstuff said:

Interesting. I've got a cheapy Les Paul with a really pale fretboard and I was thinking of darkening it using leather dye.I was worried about the dye staining the fret markers though so haven't done it yet.

@nick_s do you know of any potential effects your method will have on the plastic fret markers?

None whatsoever happened on my Jackson I tested this on a long while back @breakstuff    Indian Ink didn't affect them either.  A quick wipe cleared the worst off the plastic (ink that is) and a dab of IPA on a cotton bud removed the rest:



The dot for the 7th fret had just been wiped off, no alcohol yet at that point, was as white as a ghost when it was cleaned off with the alcohol.

WezV

you would need to be careful on old fender clay dots.  but most pearl and plastic inlays won't take the stain... even the ones that do will clean up with a little rub back

breakstuff

Thanks @nick_s and @WezV ;

Think I'm going to give it a go.I'll be watching this thread with interest.

breakstuff

Double post.

nick_s

breakstuff said:

Thanks @nick_s and @WezV ;

Think I'm going to give it a go.I'll be watching this thread with interest.

I'll try and video the staining process, the scraping is all done anyway, so at least you'll see how it goes on, how quick it may (or may not) react and what the end results are like

nick_s

We're nearly there with the Iron Acetate.  Took this quick snap late last night:



I don't think it will get much blacker, but giving it until tomorrow morning just to be safe, then the staining will commence.