raven oil -ebonizing

[wolfred]

Hi all, Just wondered if anyone has used Raven oil on a rosewood fingerboard to darken it to look like ebony?
I know it's very black, but being oil based and used for leather, I figure if used carefully, it should be possible.

Mask up super well and paint with fine brush. Maybe then use some solvent like lighter fluid to clean off excess not soaked in, after drying for suitable time.

What do you think?

[kimball492]

Hopefully this will help
http://www.instructables.com/id/Ebon...oard/?ALLSTEPS

[pablopepper]

I've used one of these stain pens. Easy as pie.



I'm sure the oil will work, but using lighter fluid (naptha) might actually strip the stain back out of the wood.

[wolfred]

Thanks guys for the input.
I'm curious. It'll probably really piss me off if I ruin the look of an otherwise beautiful neck and board,
But I think I'll finish the neck with all the stain and oil and then have a go with raven oil.
I''ll also consider adding a small amount of raven oil to lemon oil, commonly used on dry boards, rather
than neat raven oil. I read somewhere on the net about a guy who used some horrible stain that made his
fingers black for years every time he played the thing.
But I don't want it to end up sticky like a shiny oiled finish.
In any case I'll take lots of pics and by then I'll have figured out how to post pictures.
God I hate interfaces between machines and having to jump through all kinds of hoops
to do something simple.

[Hobastard]

I've used one of these stain pens. Easy as pie.



I'm sure the oil will work, but using lighter fluid (naptha) might actually strip the stain back out of the wood.

I think I need one of these, where do I get one from????

[wazkelly]

I think I need one of these, where do I get one from????

Here is a link to their Aussie website... http://www.minwax.com.au/where-to-buy/
and you can find almost anything on eBay... http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_n...&ul_noapp=true

[wolfred]

Bit of an update:-
I've tried the raven oil on a couple of guitars since:- an IB-5 (lefty), and a 5 string thunderbird.
Both maple and rosewood. I stained the whole neck on the IB-5, so I could splash it on willy nilly, let it dry, Then I wet sanded with tung oil and 1000 grit paper, wipe off after 30mins and let dry, wiping down a few times initially as the tung oil seems to ooze out of the pores and accumulate otherwise. Did that twice, trying to get to a bit of grain showing. The tung oil dries to a silky feel.
With the Thunderbird, I masked off the fingerboard to apply the raven oil. You need to seriously seal the edge of the masking tape or the raven oil will seep under and stain the maple. But use a fine brush, after wetting the brush, go nowhere near the edge until the excess has spread a bit. Got a pretty neat result. This time, I used steel wool to prep the neck, used it again on the fingerboard after letting the raven oil dry, then used the tung oil to seal the ebonized surface. Remove the masking tape and treat the maple with tung oil. I find that wet sand with 1000 grit paper and tung oil leaves a beautiful silky smooth feel. The pale maple v's the black fingerboard is great (eye of the beholder of course)
I'd post some pics, but it seems an insurmountable challenge.
Cheers, Colin

[wolfred]

There's also a brown raven oil that's useful. I stained a strat body with brown before sanding, then sanded down to expose the grain.
Sealed and finished with Tru-Oil. White scratch plate, bit of a tribute to Lowell George, Bonnie Raitte and Kirk Lorange.
Again the photo is too difficult.

[WeirdBits]

I just did a rosewood fretboard using Fiebing's, same basic process as you, tape up carefully with a good seal on the edge etc, but used just a cotton tip to paint/rub it on the board. Looks pretty good so far, but won't know the final result until I finish the neck dressing in a week or so. Old pic from another build: