funkify Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 (edited) I've got a beautiful Dean acoustic/electric that looks incredible, and plays and sounds as good as it looks. There is just one little thing that bugs me about it, though. The ends of the frets are slightly rough, and I want to round them down just a bit. I was wondering, what would be the best way to go about this without ruining the fretboard's finish or the binding on the neck? Should I use sandpaper? A file? What kind of sandpaper/file? Will masking tape be enough to ensure I don't scratch my baby? I love this guitar, if I had to give up all my guitars but one I would keep this one, so I wanted to seek some advice before taking the plunge. Hopefully some of you out there can help me out so I don't mess anything up! FWIW, I did search the forum before posting and didn't find anything about this. Edited June 15, 2007 by funkify Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-CB- Posted June 16, 2007 Report Share Posted June 16, 2007 You can minimize finish damage, and repair what little you cause. One of those stiff foam filled "nail boards" the ladies use work well. They're very fine abraisive. Dress the ends very carefully. You wont mess up the finish very much if you're careful... but... Go to the auto parts store, and get some white polishing compound for auto finishes. That on a rag will buff the finish back to full gloss. If the neck is semi-gloss... some very fine paper... say 600 or 800 grit... used very lightly... in a light swirl will tend to blend in a sanded finish to a satin finish. You may end up compounding the finish anyway very lightly just to give it a "little" shine. This is harder to describe than actually do.... finish damage should be very very minimal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwood999 Posted June 16, 2007 Report Share Posted June 16, 2007 (edited) http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_suppl...d_crowning.html try here this is the page your looking for like cb said take your time if its as nice as ya say its worth it Edited June 16, 2007 by bentwood999 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodWood Posted June 16, 2007 Report Share Posted June 16, 2007 http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_suppl...d_crowning.html try here this is the page your looking for like cb said take your time if its as nice as ya say its worth it You use a triangle file with the edges ground smooth. Or if you try with a nailfile, put maksing tape where it contacts the fretboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkify Posted June 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Thanks for the good advice guys. I'll do this next time I restring (which won't be too long as I play this guitar quite a bit) and report back with results. Any more advice is definitely appreciated... I'll check back in again before I actually do the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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