Now the fretboard is all cleaned up, we will look at how to properly polish the frets. A polished fret will make all the difference when it comes to how your guitar feels to play, and is nice and easy to do at home!
Polished frets not only look great, they feel it too. This is something you will only fully appreciate when you pick up the guitar to play it. Bends will be easier and overall you'll get far more enjoyment playing your instrument. As with all the maintenance we are doing, this can be done every time you change your strings.
There are two tools you will need to properly polish your frets.
1. Fret Guard
The fret guard is there to protect the wood on the neck from getting tarnished or scratched by the micro mesh papers. This is a preferable choice at this level to taping up every single fret as this is far more hassle and a pain to do regularly. These are available at any luthier supply stores.
2. Micro Mesh Papers
These are essentially very fine sanding papers. Exactly how fine they are, is measured by their grit rating. The higher the number, the more fine the paper. Standard sandpaper would typically be around 120 grit, whereas these papers go up to around 12000 grit! You should start with 1500 grit, then, as a good guide, work your way through 2400, 3600, 8000 and finally 12000. The 1500 will even up the frets and give them a nice shine. As you go finer and finer, you start to seriously polish the frets getting them into perfect condition.
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With all the theory and talk out of the way, we now move onto the practical! James and Chris take you through exactly how to polish up your frets in a step-by-step manner, specifically on a rosewood fretboard.