HOw do you clean your Frets?

[cakire82]

How do you guys clean and polish your fret wires without wear them out and ruining your fretboard?
And advice will be appreciated. Thank you all.

 

[Svs696]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

i use Orange Glo, I havent tried it on the fret wires tho

 

[Zerberus]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

Tape over the fretboard and pickups for protection, 0000 steel wool and metal polish for the actual work, lemon oil on the fretboard afterwards if necessary.

 

[elscorcho]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

Tape over the fretboard and pickups for protection, 0000 steel wool and metal polish for the actual work, lemon oil on the fretboard afterwards if necessary.

+1 I use the blue painter's tape.....

 

[Ascension]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

Dremmel tool with a cloth buffing wheel and jewlers rouge. I use one of the Stew Mack metal fret guards to protect the board and polish the frets to a mirror like shine. I finish it all off with a Q-Tip soaked in Fret Doctor for the fret board once a year or so on all my guitars.

 

[Ascension]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

Tape over the fretboard and pickups for protection, 0000 steel wool and metal polish for the actual work, lemon oil on the fretboard afterwards if necessary.

+ 1 in protecting the pickups getting the fibers from Steel Wool in your pickups will kill um!!

 

[Zerberus]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

I actually use duct tape flipped over as a cover for the pickups, and fixing that to teh top with normal masking tape. The duct tape not only keeps the dust out of the pickups, but makes it adhere which results in much easier cleanup. Simply fold the duct tape over on itself, blow once over the top of the guitar, and you're done. Will of course work with just about any tape

 

[cakire82]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

What kind of tapes should use? Duct tape? would not it damage the fretboard?
Where can i buy the steel wool and metal polish from?

Tape over the fretboard and pickups for protection, 0000 steel wool and metal polish for the actual work, lemon oil on the fretboard afterwards if necessary.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

Masking tape works fine and is available together with steel wool at any pseudo-decently stocked home improvement center. Lowe´s, Home Depot, whatever you call them stateside

Like Ascension, I use jeweler' s rouge and a buffing wheel on a dremel for the final polish. These are also both available at said establishments or at least should be. Metal polish was a bit misleading in my post, as you probably won´t want the messiness of brasso or similar liquid products....

 

[SrDeMaFp]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

What kind of tapes should use? Duct tape? would not it damage the fretboard?
Where can i buy the steel wool and metal polish from?

Any hardware store should have 'em. Use 0000 steel wool, BTW.

 

[Mr Wolf]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

Wide vibrato

 

[PoorMan]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

Tape over the fretboard and pickups for protection, 0000 steel wool and metal polish for the actual work, lemon oil on the fretboard afterwards if necessary.

I use the same method, no metal polish though. I find the 0000 does a fine job.

Make sure to tape up your pickups so the stray steel wool doesn't stick to them.

 

[DazH]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

you can also stick a neodynium magnet inside a plastic case (like the stew-mac repair magnets) and hold that into your steel wool, dramatically reduces the amount of particles coming off it & the magnet doesnt get ruined, becuase the dust is attached to the outside of the plastic case, not the magnet.

I use a dremel flex shaft & dremel compound #421, followed by x-treem metal polish - I did try jewellers rouge but I couldnt get anything out of it, maybe I bought too fine a version (I dont know much about it to be honest)

 

[LtKojak]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

1. Planet Wave abrasive paper.
2. X-treem metal polish on a rag and a finger.

I do this once a year in all my guitars.

HTH,

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

Both Dunlop and Planet Waves have fret polishing cloths that work very well.

But the best way to keep them shiny is to play it!

Bill

 

[Lu_B]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

I use an old electric toothbrush with a bit of cleaner or lemon oil in it, then I buff it with a cloth

 

[cakire82]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

Great idea with the magnet.
I went to hardware store today and bought the masking tape and the 0000 steel wool.
They had so many different type of Dremel tools with variety of prices. Which tool would you guys suggest. I don't want to spend a lot of money for a toll I won't you more then couple times year.

you can also stick a neodynium magnet inside a plastic case (like the stew-mac repair magnets) and hold that into your steel wool, dramatically reduces the amount of particles coming off it & the magnet doesnt get ruined, becuase the dust is attached to the outside of the plastic case, not the magnet.

I use a dremel flex shaft & dremel compound #421, followed by x-treem metal polish - I did try jewellers rouge but I couldnt get anything out of it, maybe I bought too fine a version (I dont know much about it to be honest)

 

[Diocletian]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

Wide vibrato

Ha ha, just what I was thinking! :clap:

 

[Zerberus]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

Great idea with the magnet.
I went to hardware store today and bought the masking tape and the 0000 steel wool.
They had so many different type of Dremel tools with variety of prices. Which tool would you guys suggest. I don't want to spend a lot of money for a toll I won't you more then couple times year.

Don´t buy a Dremel just to polish frets, that´s total overkill.

Metal polish and a rag will work just as well if the frets aren´t shiny enough after steel wool

 

[blueman335]

Re: HOw do you clean your Frets?

Dremmel tool with a cloth buffing wheel and jewlers rouge. I use one of the Stew Mack metal fret guards to protect the board and polish the frets to a mirror like shine. I finish it all off with a Q-Tip soaked in Fret Doctor for the fret board once a year or so on all my guitars.

Good advice. I need to do this.