How to Polish Guitar Frets
When you buy a new guitar one of the first things you might notice is how shiny and brilliant the frets are. The guitar's never been played and it looks to be in pristine condition. However, after many sessions of playing and numerous encounters with sweaty hands you'll notice that your frets now lack the luster that they had when you first purchased the guitar.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- #0000 steel wool
- Blue painter's tape
- Micro polishing compound
- Rotary tool
- Rotary tool buffing pad
- Lemon oil
- Cotton buffing cloth
- Naphtha
Instructions
-
-
1
Tape off the fret board using the blue painter's tape. Use a small strip of tape butted up against the length of the fret wire on each side of the fret. This should leave just the frets exposed. Complete this process for each fret before moving on. When you're done, the fret board should like it's made of blue material with no portion of the fret board exposed.
-
2
Cover the guitar's pickups completely with blue painter's tape. You're going to be using steel wool that will create steel wool dust. Your pickups have magnets in them that will collect this dust. Covering the pickups with tape will prevent this from happening.
-
-
3
Buff each fret with the #0000 steel wool to remove hazing and micro scratches from the surface of the fret. Do one fret at a time. Evenly buff the fret to ensure the entire fret has a uniform look. Pay attention to the fret ends. They often get overlooked. Complete each fret before moving on.
-
4
Moisten a cotton buffing towel with a small amount of naphtha and wipe down the fret board to remove all steel wool dust. Do not remove the blue tape; just wipe over it. This will prevent any contaminants from getting into the buffing compound.
-
5
Buff each fret using an electric rotary tool equipped with a small buffing pad loaded with a micro polishing compound. Use a slower setting to avoid the compound from getting all over the place and to avoid the fret from over heating. Keep the rotary tool moving from fret end to fret end to avoid over heating or burning the fret.
-
6
Moisten a cotton buffing towel with a small amount of naphtha and wipe down the fret board to remove all micro compound dust.
-
7
Remove the blue tape from the guitar's neck and then from the guitar's pickups. Moisten a cotton buffing towel with a small amount of lemon oil and rub down the fret board to add a shine and to remove any dirt or particles left behind from the buffing process.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If your guitar is not electric, you'll want to tape off the guitars sound hole or F holes to prevent dirt or steel wool from getting inside of the guitar.
