Fret Polishing

[JPOL007]

Anybody else wish Warmoth offered to remove the lacquer on fret as an option? Just spent a lot of time with 0000 steel wool and the frets of my neck. Figured get them clean before the poly went on. Man I dislike using steel wool for anything. The poly finish suggested using it to smooth out the sealer coat shellac so hit I the frets with it too.

 

[Toulouse_Tuhles]

You can use the score and scrape method

 

[Rick]

Don't bother trying to remove it.  It'll wear off in no time

 

[JPOL007]

You can use the score and scrape method

Saw Ben Crowe do that a said that seems so simple let me try :doh: This stuff wasn't as heavy as the coat on his fret sample demo. Cleaned 2 frets and gave up the fight. She is gleaming now and all the SS beauty is sweet :toothy10:

 

[JPOL007]

Don't bother trying to remove it.  It'll wear off in no time

Pretty much sure I don't have that much time left in this world ??? No more than I get to pick one up and play it would take 20 years to wear that coating off. Besides I'm one of those 3 licks to the center of the Tootsie Roll Pop guys:cool01: Anyone getting that reference has a few years on them ccasion14:

 

[AirCap]

NEVER use steel wool near a guitar. Use Scotchbrite - it's not magnetic, it doesn't make your fingers hurt, it doesn't rust, and it's not evil.

 

[JPOL007]

NEVER use steel wool near a guitar. Use Scotchbrite - it's not magnetic, it doesn't make your fingers hurt, it doesn't rust, and it's not evil.

The O C D kicked in and I used my big magnet to pull all of the small pieces off of the neck then went over the surface with a tack cloth. Had head stories of left over wool dust finding its way into pickups. I like the idea of Scotchbrite... is it grit rated like steel wool or sandpaper?

 

[stratamania]

Don't bother trying to remove it.  It'll wear off in no time

The lazy man's way to fret finishing  :help:

On Steel wool, I echo the sentiments of others. Another good alternative is micromesh.

 

[JPOL007]

Don't bother trying to remove it.  It'll wear off in no time

The lazy man's way to fret finishing  :help:

On Steel wool, I echo the sentiments of others. Another good alternative is micromesh.

I have an assorted package of the micromesh pads and forgot about them. Will use them on the frets after leveling.

 

[AirCap]

I like the idea of Scotchbrite... is it grit rated like steel wool or sandpaper?

Everything you need to know about Scotchbrite here:
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/?N=5002385+8709320+8710644+8711017+8711730+8710964+3294857497&rt=r3

 

[JPOL007]

I like the idea of Scotchbrite... is it grit rated like steel wool or sandpaper?

Everything you need to know about Scotchbrite here:
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/?N=5002385+8709320+8710644+8711017+8711730+8710964+3294857497&rt=r3

Cool...thanks :icon_thumright:

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

It comes off during a level/crown/polish as part of a professional setup.

FWIW, top shelf Fender instruments don't remove the laquer from the maple fingerboards either.
If Fender doesn't do it on their $3k assembled instruments, it isn't realistic to expect Warmoth to do it to "parts".

 

[spe111]

I'd guess there are some people out there that want that on their frets when they buy a guitar. I don't, but I bet there are.

 

[JPOL007]

I'm just lazy and like the look of highly polished SS frets. Like the finish on the fretboard ccasion14:

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Don't get me wrong, this is the main reason that I don't want a Fender with a maple board.
I'm just saying, since fretwork preferences are so subjective and nuanced per user, I understand why as a parts manufacturer why Warmoth doesn't remove it, to allow for the end user to apply their user defined preferences.  Also, this would drive up cost further as with all things, there is labor involved.

 

[JPOL007]

Don't get me wrong, this is the main reason that I don't want a Fender with a maple board.
I'm just saying, since fretwork preferences are so subjective and nuanced per user, I understand why as a parts manufacturer why Warmoth doesn't remove it, to allow for the end user to apply their user defined preferences.  Also, this would drive up cost further as with all things, there is labor involved.

No worries ccasion14:I have so little time and too many things I want to do. Anything that cuts time from a project is attractive to me. I probably sounded like I was whinging at the start of the thread.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Looking at it from a business standpoint, both as a tech, and as a former Warmoth employee & knowing Ken personally, I can share that to pull someone out of normal production into a task that is very precise and tedious by hand co$t$ labor, and in order to provide such a service, a business has to be compensated for the services that are provided, while still providing supply to the demand of its core revenue stream.

The upcharge to provide this service at a rate that reasonably recuperates the labor cost that goes into that service may not be what the consumer thinks is reasonable (thinking as a consumer and not as a business owner) hence, likely the reason why this service is not offered.

 

[JPOL007]

Looking at it from a business standpoint, both as a tech, and as a former Warmoth employee & knowing Ken personally, I can share that to pull someone out of normal production into a task that is very precise and tedious by hand co$t$ labor, and in order to provide such a service, a business has to be compensated for the services that are provided, while still providing supply to the demand of its core revenue stream.

The upcharge to provide this service at a rate that reasonably recuperates the labor cost that goes into that service may not be what the consumer thinks is reasonable (thinking as a consumer and not as a business owner) hence, likely the reason why this service is not offered.

You are right...the shop rate where I work is the same way. We can buy stuff already fabricated cheaper than making it in our tooling room. WOW...you got to be around all of the Warmoth goodies. That would be like working at the North Pole making toys :headbang:

 

[Cagey]

I strip the finish off frets with a fresh safety razor blade held at about a 10°-15° angle to the fret. Usually takes 3 passes per fret (top and two sides), and the finish comes off easily/quickly in thin strips, sorta like peeling carrots or something. Whole fretboard takes about 15 minutes to do that way. Doesn't clear them 100%, but it gets around 95% of it off very clean. Any subsequent attention (crowning/dressing/polishing) clears the rest without any special time/attention.

 

[Toulouse_Tuhles]

That's sort of like score and scrape.... I use a pointy X-acto to "score" the edges so when I scrape with a razor (or just a steel edge of a ground nail head... like Leo), the finish comes off at the score.  A little Mother's on a rag, over the whole board, blends it all pretty well, so there's no snaggy finish edges.