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.
Comments
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!
Nomad
Nobody loves me but my mother... and she could be jivin' too...
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.
Looks pretty minging, but it's getting there. When it's nice and black it will be ready.
Instagram
Anyhoo, here is how it looks this morning, a little more colour to it:
Instagram
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.
@nick_s do you know of any potential effects your method will have on the plastic fret markers?
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.
Instagram
Think I'm going to give it a go.I'll be watching this thread with interest.
I don't think it will get much blacker, but giving it until tomorrow morning just to be safe, then the staining will commence.