Do guitar frets wear faster if they are not polished?

[Pteropticon]

Well, I have bought a second hand guitar that has the frets with no wear, and they are perfectly round. It wasn't used that much. But the frets have not been polished, they look old although they have not been used too much (or maybe not used at all) but I'm starting to see them wearing, so I'm not sure if it is only my fault for fretting too hard or if it also has something to see with the frets not being polished. Thank you in advanced for answering

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Do guitar frets wear faster if they are not polished?

It is the nature of nickel frets to wear noticeably. I don't think it has to do with the finish of the frets. Get stainless steel frets if you don't want to worry about wear.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Do guitar frets wear faster if they are not polished?

A lot of old guitars used soft fret wire. Modern stainless strings eat them up pretty quickly. Try using nickel strings (not nickel plated). DR's Pure Blues helped slow down wear on some of my guitars.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Do guitar frets wear faster if they are not polished?

Polishing frets just makes them smoother......and of course very shiny. It doesn't do really anything to the height as the effect is so microscopic.

However the action of strings and fretting does wear the metal......and if you have a matte surface as the starting point then any wear will look very obvious.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Do guitar frets wear faster if they are not polished?

If the frets are polished it helps the string glide over, so there’s less friction which could mean less wear. But it’s a subtle difference.

Nickel silver is basically white brass. Even nickel plated strings are harder.


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[Demanic]

Re: Do guitar frets wear faster if they are not polished?

Wouldn't the strings rubbing against them polish them?

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[ItsaBass]

Re: Do guitar frets wear faster if they are not polished?

No.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Do guitar frets wear faster if they are not polished?

Once I tried stainless I want it on every guitar. No wear, and they feel great. But yeah, like everyone said...old style fret material just wears quickly depending on use.

 

[ken361]

Re: Do guitar frets wear faster if they are not polished?

fenders frets are pretty soft