Staining a bone saddle black

[GuitarLuva]

Just wondering if anyone had success trying to stain a bone saddle black. I was looking around for info but all I could find were folks who used tea bags and the like to get an aged bone look. I'm probably going to try this anyway as I ordered a bone saddle specifically for experimentation, but it would be nice to know if someone else has tried this or am I reaching too high. I prefer black to match the original tusq saddle to keep the same look on the guitar. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[Mandobart]

I've never done this, but I would try Neolube. Its the lubricant of choice for valve stems in the nuclear industry. Its made of "colloidal graphite suspended in isopropanol." Takes a lot of scrubbing/wear to get off your fingers. Plus it is a good lubricant. Official website.

[Osage]

I've done it with black leather dye. The same stuff stewmac sells as ebony dye. You shape and slot the saddle first and then soak it in the dye for about 6 weeks and it comes out pitch black.

[lastingimage]

GuitarLuva….Just curious, does your guitar have an under saddle pickup? If so then you may want to reconsider converting to bone. High end Martin's all ship with bone except when they come with under saddle pickups, in which case they come with a Tusq saddle. A call to Martin customer service confirmed why. For some reason the bone does a poor job of transmitting vibrations to pickups and Tusq does it much better. The bone does a great job with transferring the vibrations to the guitar top, just not the pickup. If your guitar does not have a pickup just ignore all of this.

[Dryfly]

Originally Posted by lastingimage

GuitarLuva….Just curious, does your guitar have an under saddle pickup? If so then you may want to reconsider converting to bone. High end Martin's all ship with bone except when they come with under saddle pickups, in which case they come with a Tusq saddle. A call to Martin customer service confirmed why. For some reason the bone does a poor job of transmitting vibrations to pickups and Tusq does it much better. The bone does a great job with transferring the vibrations to the guitar top, just not the pickup. If your guitar does not have a pickup just ignore all of this.

So my two Santa Cruz guitars that I put K&K pickups in would be better
sounding plugged in with Tusq rather than the bone they came with?
What about unplugged with Tusq?

[Halcyon/Tinker]

Lastingimage is referring to under saddle pickups, not soundboard transducers like the k&k.

Bone has varying density so can occasional throw off string to string balance with a UST. TUSQ, being a man made composite, gets around that nicely.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by GuitarLuva

Just wondering if anyone had success trying to stain a bone saddle black. I was looking around for info but all I could find were folks who used tea bags and the like to get an aged bone look. I'm probably going to try this anyway as I ordered a bone saddle specifically for experimentation, but it would be nice to know if someone else has tried this or am I reaching too high. I prefer black to match the original tusq saddle to keep the same look on the guitar. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Once you get your saddle shaped to exactly what you want remove it and throughly de-grease it with lacquer thinner. Naptha (lighter fluid) will do in a pinch. Many nut and saddle blanks still have residual oils and grease in the blank, especially the e-bay offerings.

Completely blacken the blank using a "giant" flat tipped Sharpie permanent black marker. Use a couple of coats, letting it dry several minutes between application.

[GuitarLuva]

Originally Posted by Mandobart

I've never done this, but I would try Neolube. Its the lubricant of choice for valve stems in the nuclear industry. Its made of "colloidal graphite suspended in isopropanol." Takes a lot of scrubbing/wear to get off your fingers. Plus it is a good lubricant. Official website.

Thanks for all the replies. I actually use neolube from time to time for my job. We use it on fittings that are going to be under high temperature. Never would have thought to use it to dye something.

[ChalkLitIScream]

Originally Posted by Dryfly

So my two Santa Cruz guitars that I put K&K pickups in would be better
sounding plugged in with Tusq rather than the bone they came with?
What about unplugged with Tusq?

K&Ks are not under saddle transducers-they pick up vibrations from under the top, so bone or tusq shouldnt make a difference-atleast in the efficiency of sound transferred. There may still be a tonal difference bc they are diffeent saddle material, but only you can decide if that sound is <better>

As for a black bone saddle, one could use black shoe polish on the saddle after it has been shaped and finished. Or you could try coats of permanent marker.

I actually wanted a black bone saddle, but I gave up and got black tusq saddles instead.

[Rodger Knox]

You could make a saddle out of carbon fiber usually used for neck reinforcement, that's black. It is difficult to work with, but it's very hard and reasonably light, so it makes a good saddle.

[GuitarLuva]

Originally Posted by lastingimage

GuitarLuva….Just curious, does your guitar have an under saddle pickup? If so then you may want to reconsider converting to bone. High end Martin's all ship with bone except when they come with under saddle pickups, in which case they come with a Tusq saddle. A call to Martin customer service confirmed why. For some reason the bone does a poor job of transmitting vibrations to pickups and Tusq does it much better. The bone does a great job with transferring the vibrations to the guitar top, just not the pickup. If your guitar does not have a pickup just ignore all of this.

Funny you should say this as this is sorta another myth in the acoustic guitar world. I actually did have a LR Baggs element UST in this guitar but have removed it. I did try the bone saddle with it and actually preferred it to the stock tusq saddle both plugged and unplugged. The reason I believe most companies use tusq saddles over bone is due to consistency from piece to piece. When you do get a nice consistent piece of bone though results are awesome. Check out Bob Colosi's website. He's famous for his bone saddles and pins and also claims on there that a good bone saddle will be fine with a UST. Thanks for mentioning it though I do appreciate the info.

[GuitarLuva]

Originally Posted by Rodger Knox

You could make a saddle out of carbon fiber usually used for neck reinforcement, that's black. It is difficult to work with, but it's very hard and reasonably light, so it makes a good saddle.

Absolutely, I do have carbon fiber on hand but would prefer to keep the bone saddle so long as staining/dyeing or whatever else do not affect the tonal characteristics of the bone saddle.

Now that I see in the replies that people had success with this using different methods I will certainly have no fear. At home I currently have black keda dye and minwax ebony stain. If shoe polish can absorb into the bone than either of those should.

[tadol]

Try putting the bone into the dye then pull a vacuum. That can help get the color into porous materials.

[GuitarLuva]

Originally Posted by tadol

Try putting the bone into the dye then pull a vacuum. That can help get the color into porous materials.

I currently have the bone saddle soaking in black keda dye. I think I'll leave it alone for a few days.

[B. Howard]

Black nut or saddle? I use ebony....