Sanding Frets

[Skittles]

I don't know if this is the right section for this, but here goes. Ok I got this dunlop guitar care kit. It came with this fine grain sand paper to buff the frets. I was wondering would it take the smooth shinny finish off my frets? They're stainless steel. Doe's it really make that big of a deal if I buff them or not, and wouldn't a ruff surface make grim build up easier? Should I buff them, or not that is the question?

[sumitomo]

Hey,Skittles you should check out the photo essay of a level and crown its in this forum I think it will answer a lot of your questions.Sumi

[ted s]

I would think if they are clean, smooth, and otherwise free of scratches or any other type of snot then leave them.
Ditto on the Dreadman post

[snarph]

I would think if they are clean, smooth, and otherwise free of scratches or any other type of snot then leave them.
Ditto on the Dreadman post

Like he said dont fudge up your frets if you dont need to I got lots of auto tools but only break the out if the cars die

[Bloozcat]

I don't know if this is the right section for this, but here goes. Ok I got this dunlop guitar care kit. It came with this fine grain sand paper to buff the frets. I was wondering would it take the smooth shinny finish off my frets? They're stainless steel. Doe's it really make that big of a deal if I buff them or not, and wouldn't a ruff surface make grim build up easier? Should I buff them, or not that is the question?

You have to be really careful when sanding frets. If they're already level and the crown is good, all you really need to do is just polish the frets. You can do this by using 000 or 0000 steel wool, and if you wish, a Dremel tool and some metal polish for a final polish. But, before you do anything, tape the fretboard between the frets with blue painters tape to protect the wood.

If you're getting string/fret buzzing and you think you have some uneven frets, follow the instructions in the fret level/polish teutorial in this forum. It's already explained there very well, so I won't re-hash it.

[mrmudcat]

With stainlees frets that sandpaper will fall apart before you could do anythinbg to mess them up.The paper is just that to polish them.It is very hard to level/crown stainless steel frets they are very hard and will last forever.They wont groove or hardly look used after several years So really you can polish if you want but dont have to.

I know luthiers hate to work on s.s. so im not sure if you need something special material or tool wise im sure Dread will set the record straight.:

[Plank_Spanker]

I use 1500 or 2000 grit sandpaper (is it really sandpaper at that grit? ) to polish my frets every now and then. Just a few light passes and they're shining..............

[Algonquin]

I use 1500 or 2000 grit sandpaper (is it really sandpaper at that grit? )

2000 grit... that's smoother than most bathroom tissue! I'm switching brands.

[Plank_Spanker]

It's an aircraft canopy polishing kit I've had for years. They're all cloth backed, and the grit runs from 600 to 6000. I use a little metal guard I bought from Stew Mac the fits over the fret and covers the wood while I polish.

[Skittles]

OMG! I worry to much about this guitar I need to focus more on playing. Check this out I decided to sand it. I pulled the paper out of the plastic. Guess what grit?














8000!

You all were right. My frets beat the S*** out of it! It made my fret board smoother. Thats about it

[Plank_Spanker]

SS frets are tough.

[Skittles]

SS frets are tough.

You're not kidding! The only strings that seem to not get eating up so far. Are the coated DR's. Nice strings for the price. The brightness makes it well worth it though. I'm thinking about ordering some stainless wound strings too. They don't sell them around my way anywhere