I'm just not happy with using steel wool on polishing my frets. When I bend a string, I can hear the grinding of the string on the fret.
I'm so jealous looking at everyone else's shiny pretty frets here on the OLF. How do you do that?! Clinton
| Official Luthiers Forum! http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/ |
|
| How do you polish frets? http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=11038 |
Page 1 of 2 |
| Author: | crich [ Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:32 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
I'm just not happy with using steel wool on polishing my frets. When I bend a string, I can hear the grinding of the string on the fret. I'm so jealous looking at everyone else's shiny pretty frets here on the OLF. How do you do that?! Clinton
|
|
| Author: | old man [ Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:49 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
Pretty much like Hesh said, except I go through 800 before using the wool. I sand/polish lengthwise, along the FB first and then across the FB, along the fret, with each grit. Kinkead illustrates fret finishing very well in his book. Mine come out smooth as a baby's butt. 
Ron |
|
| Author: | TonyKarol [ Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:53 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
Once levelled and recrowned where necessary, tape off and do 20 strokes each of 600 then 1000 grit per fret, dry. Then hit them with a 2 inch buffing wheel on the dremel and rouge compound - shiny as they can get. |
|
| Author: | Dave Rector [ Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:56 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
I use several grits of micro-mesh. Shines em up pretty well. |
|
| Author: | crazymanmichael [ Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:57 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
tony, you stole my post!!!! |
|
| Author: | Pwoolson [ Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:58 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
I go all the way up to 12,000 grit micro mesh. |
|
| Author: | peterm [ Wed Feb 21, 2007 11:04 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
[QUOTE=TonyKarol] Then hit them with a 2 inch buffing wheel on the dremel and rouge compound - shiny as they can get.[/QUOTE] You guys odd to try this! It works like a charm! 
|
|
| Author: | Dave-SKG [ Wed Feb 21, 2007 11:32 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
12K MM or go to the wheel...looks like they were melted in. |
|
| Author: | JJ Donohue [ Wed Feb 21, 2007 12:56 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
MicroMesh...all the way to 12K! |
|
| Author: | crich [ Wed Feb 21, 2007 1:22 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Are you guys using regular sand paper up to 1000 grit? Sorry for the dumb questions, but is rouge a compound I can get at a Big Orange Retail Store? Clinton |
|
| Author: | TonyKarol [ Wed Feb 21, 2007 3:56 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Stays on the wheel Hesh, its a little softer and more pasty than menzerna .. ask a local jeweller where he buys his, its cheap, a bar thats 3/4 sq by 3 inch long, that will last you years and a couple hundred fret jobs is 6 or 7 bucks up here in the Great White North. |
|
| Author: | crazymanmichael [ Wed Feb 21, 2007 4:10 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
rio grande is probably the biggest source for things like rouge, gravers, etc. |
|
| Author: | Kim [ Wed Feb 21, 2007 4:48 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
[QUOTE=TonyKarol] Once levelled and recrowned where necessary, tape off and do 20 strokes each of 600 then 1000 grit per fret, dry. Then hit them with a 2 inch buffing wheel on the dremel and rouge compound - shiny as they can get.[/QUOTE] I do this as well, I just run a felt polishing wheel against a dull point to form a radius groove in the centre of the wheel, works a treat. Cheers Kim |
|
| Author: | Dave Anderson [ Wed Feb 21, 2007 5:35 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
MM pads all the way to 12000. I like the small buff and rouge idea. Got to give that a try! |
|
| Author: | Jim Kirby [ Wed Feb 21, 2007 10:38 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
I'm with Paul, JJ and Dave. Crown the frets with a crowning file, sand to 400 (frets and board), steel wool, and then MicroMesh (the little pads) on the frets all the way to 12000. Once the file scratches are gone, moving from one MM grit to the next only takes a few seconds on each fret, and they sure are shiny when they are done. |
|
| Author: | Dave Rickard [ Thu Feb 22, 2007 12:10 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
I've been using MM up to 12K but the But I also want to try thr polishing wheel. |
|
| Author: | Mark Tripp [ Thu Feb 22, 2007 1:33 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
I also use the dremel wheel. I tape off the board with blue painters tape, sand with 400 to 1200 (I also use one of the little plastic sanding sticks on the fret ends), then buff with the dremel. -Mark |
|
| Author: | Barry Daniels [ Thu Feb 22, 2007 1:59 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
I polish my frets in two steps. I first sand with 320 grit paper and then hit them with an 8" buffing wheel and grey compound. I hold the neck so the buffing wheel is parallel to the neck, or at right angles to the frets. After doing one side of the frets, I flip the neck around to get the other side. Each fret is polished real quickly because if I hesitate too long in one spot, the fret gets real hot which is probably not desirable. I recharge the buffing wheel after every three frets. This is the quickest process I have come across to get a high polish. |
|
| Author: | Ron Belanger [ Thu Feb 22, 2007 4:56 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
Wet or dry paper to 1000 then MM to 12000, but I recenly bought a 6" grinder at an auction for real cheap and will put a buff and a hard felt on it to use for small stuff like frets |
|
| Author: | L. Presnall [ Thu Feb 22, 2007 5:14 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
Hammer 'em in and leave 'em! If the customer wanted shiny frets he should've bought an Esteban! |
|
| Author: | L. Presnall [ Thu Feb 22, 2007 5:15 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
 That was a J-O-A-K!
|
|
| Author: | Alain Desforges [ Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:25 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
[QUOTE=L. Presnall] Hammer 'em in and leave 'em! If the customer wanted shiny frets he should've bought an Esteban![/QUOTE] 
I sand up to 2000 grit, dry. Then just use a rag a bit of metal polishing compound. They end up looking like mirrors... |
|
| Author: | crich [ Thu Feb 22, 2007 10:28 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
WOW! Thanks for all the great ideas!  Those semi hemisherical frets I've seen must take awhile? Clinton
|
|
| Page 1 of 2 | All times are UTC - 5 hours |
| Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/ |
|