banner

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Good fret polish.... no black fingers

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Good fret polish.... no black fingers

    Hi

    I'm used to polishing frets with steel wool, then a firm rub with a linnen cloth. But it seems the steel wool leaves you with black fingers when playing the guitar aftrerwards.

    Any viable alternatives?

    Some types of chrome/metal polish seem to have the same result.

  • #2
    Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

    for everyday polishing needs, try new Gorgomyte!

    Gorgomyte is the world's best fret cleaning and polishing method. Used by professionals everywhere around the world. Frets, polish, shiny frets, guitar polish, world's best guitar polish. gorgomyte

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

      Steel wool is not something that you want to be using on an electric guitar. The stuff that makes your fingers black also tends to accumulate around the pickup pole pieces and eventually rusts.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

        What about after a fret leveling job?

        I use sandpaper to 1000 grid, then steel wool, got a nice sheen going, but black fingers.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

          Originally posted by Demanic View Post
          Steel wool is not something that you want to be using on an electric guitar. The stuff that makes your fingers black also tends to accumulate around the pickup pole pieces and eventually rusts.
          Well, I also tape off the pickups but have indeed come to the same conclusion re steel wool. Is there an alternative besides using ever finer sand paper?
          fret leveling is grids 400, 600, 1000 then steel wool.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

            Devastone mentioned gorgomyte in a post above.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

              Originally posted by WDeeGee View Post
              What about after a fret leveling job?

              I use sandpaper to 1000 grid, then steel wool, got a nice sheen going, but black fingers.


              I've been using micromesh. 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 grit.



              Even the fine stuff - 0000 steel wool is about equivalent to 400 or maybe 600 grit paper, so you're probably not doing your fret polish any favours by polishing to 1000 and then hitting it with steel wool.
              Join me in the fight against muscular atrophy!

              Originally posted by Douglas Adams
              This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

                Gorgomyte, Dunlop Fret Polishing cloth, or the Planet Waves kit.

                Bill
                When you've had budget guitars for a number of years, you may find that your old instrument is holding you back. A quality guitar can inspire you to write great songs, improve your understanding of the Gdim chord while in the Lydian Mode, cure the heartbreak of cystic acne--and help you find true love in the process.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

                  Just go to a finer grit sandpaper or pad you nitwits.
                  The things that you wanted
                  I bought them for you

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

                    Scotchbrite comes in many grits. It doesn't rust, turn your fingers black, it's not magnetic, and when it breaks down the little crumbs won't hurt your fingers. Steel wool is EVIL, it's of the devil. DON'T USE IT.

                    Leave that crap for the cabinet makers who don't know any better.
                    aka Chris Pile, formerly of Six String Fever

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

                      I use a micromesh kit for the frets. after using fine scotch pad to clean the fretboard and taking care not to chaffe the frets with it too much.

                      1000/2000 grit metal sandpaper will work quite good. Then go over everything with a metal polish.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

                        You guys are all great, thanks!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

                          Originally posted by WDeeGee View Post
                          Well, I also tape off the pickups but have indeed come to the same conclusion re steel wool. Is there an alternative besides using ever finer sand paper?
                          fret leveling is grids 400, 600, 1000 then steel wool.
                          to be fair, people primarily used Steel Wool on guitars for a half of a century and somehow the entire generation of rock n roll legends made it through -so it's not wrong.

                          but they're are way easier and effective options now so you don't have to tape off pickups and such.

                          I like the Scotch Brite pads -both Lowes and Home Depot have a version of these that are cheap


                          Also like using my Dremel sometimes on the final polish
                          “For me, when everything goes wrong – that’s when adventure starts.” Yvonne Chouinard

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

                            After I hack the frets with my radius block and 300 grit crowning file, i'll start with 320 to take out the deep scratches. This is where the majority of the work has to be done because finer sandpaper than 400 will not take out deep scratches. I'll go back to 220 if I need to. Then 400, 800, and 1500. This leaves the frets quite glossy and slinky without a bunch of work. I just stick the paper in my crowning file. If you want an even glossier aesthetic, sand to 2000+ then use a polishing wheel on ur dremel and polish.
                            Last edited by Clint 55; 02-06-2020, 10:06 PM.
                            The things that you wanted
                            I bought them for you

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

                              Which ScotchBrite pads do you use to clean frets between string changes? What would you use for deep cleaning/polishing on an older, dirtier guitar?
                              Administrator of the SDUGF

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X