Remember why I said that the look of those dots across the frets didn't matter as long as they feel comfortable to touch?

That's because I am applying custom decals all over the frets that will be covering up all of those dots so no one can see them.

When applying these decals in it's rightful order, it's best to cover up the frets with the dots first before applying everything else.

This is because you may need to move the decals around to cover up the dots (like I was forced to do within the 12th fret) and then work your way around them. Cause once you apply a decal that doesn't match up in place with the adjacent fret decal...you can't go back.

I will say though, I did make same mistakes misplace the decals on the wrong fret boards, but thanks to a pair of scissors I managed to cut parts of the decals off to make it work.

1/ Can you guess where they are?

2/ How does it look so far?

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Even after a mistake, it can easily be wiped off with cleaning alcohol especially since these areas haven't been sanded and what not.

Although the sides of the fretboard had to have more lighter fluid rubbed into it to get the black stain to seep into them
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Now onto the actual wood staining

A little makes a lot of difference, it's already looking so much better and this is just after the first coating too.

Like I said, the previous method makes it absorb it faster and I shall be adding on more coats as well.

You can even compare its color to the area under where the nut's suppose to be. Huge difference

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Next...is to stain the fret board black.

But first...an unusual approach: POURING LIGHTER FLUID ALL OVER THE FRETBOARD!

No, I won't be setting it on fire, sorry to disappoint. This is just to dry out the frets to to make it "thirsty" so to speak.

So now, once I rub in the black stains it will be easier for the wood to absorb it all and hold onto it's colour over time. This is especially used to prevent your fingers from getting stained from playing it later, cause if the liquid just coats the surface as oppose to seeping into the wood then won't stay in as well.

Then again...maybe it would've been fine but it will make the job more easier.

(Reminder: You should always sand, with at least 320 paper, and clean your frets before moving onto wood staining (whether or not you decide to use lighter fluid just before apply the stain)

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Next...us to level out these dots with the help of super glue to hold them back in place (be very careful with that stuff).

Then afterwards, sand them off being careful not to sand the fret boards after they've already been sanded with 400 grit paper.

(It's worth noting, I have sanded and rounded off the side edges of each end of the whole fretboard to make holding and playing the instrument very comfortable)

Typically, you'd want to have those dots replaced, but there is a reason why I'm only concerned with levelling them and making them feel good, which I shall be explaining and showing later.

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Also, if anyone had notice, there are some dots of the fret board that are worn out and completely ruins and will continue to ruin the look if there are not dealt with.

I had tried different methods, but the best one to use is with a soldering iron and a screw.

Do as follows:

1. Punch a hold into a dot with a hot soldering iron that needs fixing/replacing

2. Screw in a screw into the hole of the dot that you just made as far down as it can or needs to go

3. Finally, just grab onto the screw and simply pull it out.

Sorted.

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So...before I start with stain the fret board, I will need to sand and clean them off.

You can see a before and after comparison within these photos.

Already it's much darker than before, but it ain't dark enough yet. 

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It's looking way better, but honestly the color of the Rosewood fretboard isn't really blending well with the rest of the guitar.

Therefore, I decided I was going to stain the wooden frets with a dark color to match the black.

Yes....more black please. But first, I must tape up around the outside of the rosewood frets to protect the rest of the neck from getting accidentally stain too.

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In case you creatures are wondering.....NO! I don't plan on using the same parts that came in with this.

If I'm going to make a black beast of a guitar that punch's more the a hoof punch...then it's time to Black the Everything on this machine.

So In have to order so many parts to improve it's look, sound and quality.

Even had to put everything together to see how it's all going to look.

What do you think so far?

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