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Gritty Frets


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Hi all,

Just put together my first frankenguitar, and the neck is admittedly cheap (although fundamentally sound). The problem is it's a bit dry and gritty feeling to play. When bending notes the frets kind of grind. Is there something I can do to smooth out the playing experience? It's a rosewood fretboard too - should I oil it with something?

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Sounds like the frets need doing, as the grit you feel is probably some scratches on them.

I'm no expert - but I'd mask off the fingerboard, and then use a good fine oiled oilstone to take out those scratches, then give them a polish with some wire wool and or metal polish - such as brasso.

I'm sure an expert will be along in a minute!

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Do the frets have noticable "grooves" in them, or is it just a question of "feeling"?

I would start with some steelwool (highest grade you could possibly find!)

Tape off the fingerboard, and just polish up the frets.

Go along the fret, one fret at a time, not along the fretboard.

You don't have to tape off the whole fingerboard either...

I do it one fret at a time.

Place some masking tape on each side of the fret, and polish. Remove the tape, and move it to the next fret.

As for the fingerboard itself, some lemon oil should take care of that...

This is a minor investment, and may very well be more than enough to make your neck feel better...

You may already have the lemon oil, so all you need is the steelwool (and don't try to use the regular "kitchen cleaning" kind!), and you're good to go.

:D

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Thanks chaps - There's no noticeable grooves (it's not an old neck, just a cheap one). I've got some 000000 steel wool, and some lemon oil, so I'm good to go! i have to remove the neck again soon to reshape the headstock and try a shim to alter the neck angle slightly, so I'll do that at the same time.

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I just use a pair of sticky notes and a piece of super-fine steel wool. Put a sticky note on either side of the fret, polish the fret until it gleams, then move to the next fret. If you wear through the paper, just use a fresh pair. I prefer this method because it's fast and leaves no gummy residue on the guitar.

Another popular method is to use a stamped aluminum eraser shield that you can get at just about any drafting supply shop. Eraser shields usually have a groove that's perfectly fret-sized. Put the shield over the fretboard with the fret sticking through, polish, then move on.

Be careful not to get any steel wool filings in your pickups.

An oilstone or metal polish are not necessary, and 400 grit sandpaper is probably too coarse and would take off too much material if your frets are already level.

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Nothing wrong with 400 grit if each fret gets exactly the same treatment and I'm olny talking about a couple good swipes, not enough to make a noticeable difference in height. If that amount of 400 grit does screw things up then the frets are ready for replacement anyway. Like I said it all depends on how rough the frets are. If the fine steel wool works for a start then thats great. If not then you have to use something more coarse and work your way to the finer end.

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Well, if i can leave behind just one great idea in my lifetime, i guess i'd be happy with being known as "inventor of the sticky-note method of fret polishing." :D

By the way, i prefer genuine 3M™ Post-It® Brand notes. The paper they use is a bit smoother and thicker than the generic sticky notes you can buy, and stands up to a bit more abrasion before wearing through. They also stay sticky longer.

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A new cheap neck usually could use a fret-leveling, and if so, you might as well do that as long as you're going to be using steel wool, etc. Kind of like the mechanic has your car up on the rack for an oil change and notices that something else should also be taken care of as long as it's up on the rack.

Your guitar on the work-bench is like the car up on the rack. 21 point inspection and maintenance required at this time.

Make sure your strings are not gritty. They get that way, and start grinding the frets.

I like aluminum from beer cans for fret-board guard material. They last for several jobs.

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im really intersted in learning to do a fret dress on an old crap 2nd hand guitar that i have no intention to play after.

What i wanted to ask is, do you know of a really good guide to doing this. I know there are some on the PG.com site but maybe you could let me know the good ones if you know of any?

And would you recomend me starting to do this, ive been doing repairs for a few months now and an interested in getting into the harder stuff.

Thanks

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If you aren't having any problems with strings buzzing or dead notes, your frets probably don't need leveling. To continue the automotive metaphor, that's like tearing down your engine and replacing all the gaskets and seals when all you need is an oil change.

Polishing the frets is something you can easily do as part of a string change. A full level/crown/polish job is best done with the neck off and isn't terribly hard, but you need good instruction and some confidence.

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