Wood stain not holding on fretboard

[Mr Insane]

The rosewood fretboard on my LP was too light for my taste. I have tried staining it a couple times, but after time and playing, the stain won't hold.

Last time I treated the fretboard to get excess oil off, did a little light sandpapering per the dyes instructions. But you can still see where it wore off where I solo a lot.

What am I missing on keeping the stain to hold?

 

[jkes01]

What stain? Have you cleaned it with naphtha or degreaser before applying the stain?

 

[Mr Insane]

What stain? Have you cleaned it with naphtha or degreaser before applying the stain?

Last time I used naptha.

The stain was from Stewmac, don't remember the exact one at the moment.

 

[Rocco Crocco]

Leather Dye may hold up better.

I like how your fretboard looks now with the wear spots, BTW.

 

[moreles]

I've gotta disagree with the idea that the wear spots look good. They remind me of those super-cheap 60s guitars that had painted fretboards, which wore through just like that, often revealing maple! I hope someone will recommend a product that works for you; I haven't had to darken a board in...forever. I do wonder if it's saturated with oil so the stain can't "take." If so, you'll need to use nasptha or other solvent and maybe do a lot of blotting. Of course, many solvents will wreck the finish, so be careful. I've never had a board that wouldn't take stain. Strange.

 

[ErictheRed]

Are you sure that it's rosewood and not baked maple or Richlite or something similar?

 

[Mr Insane]

2006 model, rosewood .

 

[LtDave32]

I would like to point out that naptha is a fuel, not a solvent. It will not hurt lacquer finishes.

 

[LtDave32]

Naptha *should* clean that rosewood well enough for it to take stains. You must have some waxes or old finger goo really packed in the pores.

When you work the naptha into it, can you see the rosewood grain pores clearly, and is there some "depth" to them?

In other words, is the naptha working to get the wax and crud out?