What is Your Method for Dressing Frets?

[BluesRiffer]

Hello Everybody,

This is Post numero uno. I have been finding PawnShop Guitar Beauties and with a little TLC I have a great set of Guitars IMO. However, often you will find that these Potential Gems often need the frets to be dressed or slightly resurfaced to get out those pesky dings that hinder bending notes. What I do is I examine the frets with a magnifying glass to see their overall form. Then I carefully use one of those cheap nail file sticks that are essentially a cardboard with a fine side and a coarser side. I then use some masking tape and tape the fret board leaving only the frets exposed.

I then file out small dings by holding the file crossways so that it touches several frets and I lightly sand with the fine sandpaper til the ding dissappears. By very lightly sanding this way several adjoining frets are done at the same time so the tops of the frets are level or very very nearly so.

Then for good measure I file the sides very lightly on sides to preserve the shape of the frets. Then I use a battery powered dremel tool that I got at Lowes for $7.50 plus tax and some Auto Paint Scratch remover. I carefully cover the frets and use a cloth polishing wheel carefully polishing the frets and changing the cloth polishing wheels when they get covered with black tarnish. I repeat the polishing process till all the tarnish is removed and the cloth polishing wheel can polish without any black tarnish showing or nearly so.

This battery powered dremel tool was advertised as a "Golf Ball Cleaner."
I have never ruined any frets or had to do a refret because I dressed the frets in this manner. I have removed many dings that really hindered bending notes. Of course I came up with this novel method on my own. It could be only Fools Luck that I never ruined a fret job.

Once I'm finished off comes the masking tape and I lightly oil the fret board using various brands of oil so that I don't have a build up of oil. Also I make sure that I don't let the oil soak or accumalate in the small cracks along the sides of the frets.

I'm sure there must be other ways to do this. Perphaps ways that are superior in technique. I just couldn't see my self bringing a guitar that I got for $70 and asking a luthier to fix it.. I would certainly like to know what you think of my method and what is the real way to accomplish this. Myself I like my frets to be very smoth and slippery and mirrorlike looking. I've been doing this since in the 1960's with nothing detremintal happening.

I would certainly like to know your opinions on this matter.

And Thanks Ya'll

l

[SuperSwede]

Hey BluesRiffer. Welcome!
Why dont you write something about yourself in the Fret Players section?

I have never done any fretword other than regular polishing with a fine grain sandpaper, but it sure is expensive to have it done by the "pros". Especially on low cost guitars such as the venerable Squier ´51 (house guitar of the fretnet!)

[tot_Ou_tard]

Yowza Bluesriffer. The Golf Ball Cleaner is a great touch.

Welcome he sez bowing...

[Hogfullofblues]

Just a beginner and never tried anything like that, but according to this, you are a BluesLuthier!

http://www.cgsmusic.net/Lessons/Dressing%20the%20Frets%20on%20a%20Classical%20Guit ar.htm

[tot_Ou_tard]

Cool link Hog, but no mention of the Golf Ball cleaner.

:D

[Hogfullofblues]

Hmmm....
Maybe that's cause classical guitarists are not into electricity and do everything with their fingers?

[Spudman]

So...I can do my balls and my frets with one tool? :eek: That's cool.

Great tips BR. Your method is great for clean up. I think you have been pretty lucky and haven't gotten spots in the neck that were uneven. For that you would need a file to uniformly level sections of frets. Otherwise, I think your method is superb for many at home tinkerers.

[r_a_smith3530]

Cool procedure there BluesRiffer, although I still prefer to dress them by hand. The tools of the trade (for me) include 1000 and 1500 grit 3M wet-or-dry sandpaper, 0000 Steel Wool, and the blue masking tape. I also have this neat little tool that is just a thin piece of metal, about the size of a credit card, with a slot in it, slightly larger than a jumbo fret. I think that I scored the tool at Stew-Mac.

[BluesRiffer]

Hi Everybody,

The way I keep the frets level is that I hold one of those el cheapo sandpaper nail files perpendicular to the frets lightly sanding applying even pressure with the finger tips. Then I look at them with a magnifying glass and get the original shape back. Then I use the battery powered dremel tool that I got from Lowes for under $8.00 U.S. last year. to polish to a mirror like finish. And I always clean and polish the particular instrument I've been playing.

However, I saw on the Stew-Mac catalogue some files and stuff especially for dressing frets professionally. I'm going to do some research and see if its worth it. I have never messed a guitar up. Oh, I put masking tape between the frets so as not to erode the fingerboard. And I'm carefull about not letting oil soak into the sides of the frets. If anyone has looked at the majority of singleshot shotguns the stock are cracked where you hold the gun near the trigger. I have been told by several gunsmiths thats from over oiling and the wood swells and cracks. I don't want to know what it will do to a nice Strat, Tele, Yari, or Gretsh.

Anyway, sometimes I buy a guitar and start getting it all fixed up and neglect playing or practice rather.