Speedball Black Guitar Finish

[Dave W]

I wonder how well it would work on fretboards, for a faux-ebony look.

The oils in rosewoods usually aren't friendly to finishes. Would be worth a try though. Might work better on pau ferro, and in blackening streaked ebony to a uniform color.

[slinkp]

What about on maple though? Would sound a bit closer to ebony too.

[Dave W]

Again, worth a try. Black stain on maple usually doesn't look that good to me, tough to get it even looking. Dye is better. Hard to predict how this formula would look.

I don't think maple sounds close to ebony.

[BTL]

The best way to think of this is as a very thin, very black paint.

Carbon Black/Lamp Black is a pigment, not a dye, so while some might call it a stain, it's really not.

To the extent that you protect the color coat with an appropriate clear coat, it's pretty remarkable stuff.

[slinkp]

I suppose if it chips then, the original lighter color would show pretty strongly?

[BTL]

Yes, but it's super-easy to touch-up.