Hi folks:
I'm building a mountain dulcimer and I have a client waiting for it. The fingerboard is made from a beautiful piece of bocote. The problem is that after inlaying the abolone fret makers and sanding the surface bocote is a yellowish color (when cut or sanded it turns yellow).
Normally it takes about a week or more for that wood to start to turn the dark orangish-brown that we want. I don't have a week. The Julian bluegrass festival is next weekend and we would really like to have it done by then.
Cocobolo can be oxidized by wipeing it with alchohol. Tried that on bocote and it didn't change. Purpleheart will oxidize in about a day if left in the sun. Tried that with a scrap of bocote and it stayed yellow.
Is there any way I can speed up that oxidation to get the color I need?
Thank you
Greg