Good fret polish.... no black fingers

WDeeGee

New member
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.

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.
 
Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

Devastone mentioned gorgomyte in a post above.
 
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.



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.
 
Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

Just go to a finer grit sandpaper or pad you nitwits.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

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
https://www.amazon.com/StewMac-Scot...GRV70G885TR&psc=1&refRID=WNSNR76K4GRV70G885TR

Also like using my Dremel sometimes on the final polish
 
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:
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?
 
Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

^ My instinct would be to use the finest grit scotch brite which is the white. Then your favorite fretboard moisturizer as a cleaner. I've tried using acetone to clean things up after my fret jobs and it didn't improve much against the bare wood.
 
Last edited:
Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

I think the OP was asking about cleaning, not finishing frets after a level/crown. Seriously, Gorgomyte works great, cleans the fretboard, and no dust of any kind to deal with. It removes the stuff that makes your fingers black.
 
Re: Good fret polish.... no black fingers

I think the OP was asking about cleaning, not finishing frets after a level/crown. Seriously, Gorgomyte works great, cleans the fretboard, and no dust of any kind to deal with. It removes the stuff that makes your fingers black.

but that black stuff is where the "tone" comes from. :lmao:

Don't ever clean off you MOjo!

in all seriousness, I had a drummer for a decade that refused to clean his drums because he thought it would affect his sound.
 
Back
Top