Lacquer over frets question

[acs917]

Hello All,

  I was wondering if there is any down side to not removing the lacquer from the frets on my new maple J bass neck? I was planning on leaving it and letting it wear off through normal playing. Any feedback would be appreciated. Maybe from someone who has done the same thing when they first got their lacquered covered frets. BTW it has nickel roundwounds on it.

 

[Tonar8352]

I tape off the fret board and use 0000 steel wool to remove the finish and then buff the frets up on a polishing arbor. You can do the polish part by hand.

 

[aarontunes]

There is no downside at all. It won't take very long for it to wear off. However, you might find it annoying....your hands will look like they're are covered in dead skin every time you play for a while.


If it were me, I'd just do it in one fell swoop. Takes a credit card and about 10 minutes. Scrape away!

 

[Cagey]

I use a safety razor blade. If you do it when it's new, the finish usually comes off in fret-sized strips because it doesn't stick to metal very well. As DoubleA says, it's about a 10 minute job, if that.