Fender Stratocaster - Fret Polishing With a Dremel

Fret polishing can be seen as a dark art of guitars, but it doesn't have to be. In this video I show how I do it from start to finish on this Fender Stratocaster.
I go through the whole process from checking the fretboard and frets for how level they are to my polishing process and restoring the fingerboard to its beautiful Rosewood glory.
Hope you find this entertaining and/or useful if you decide to have a go at doing it yourself.
Thanks for watching.
My Links:
Website:
Instagram: / whitefootguitars
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#fenderstratocaster , #electricguitar , #fretpolishing

[@MrCpfreitas]

The tape trick is great!
It will save me lots of work next time I polish my frests.

[@WhitefootGuitars]

Thank you, glad you found it useful 👍 fretboard protectors are fine, but sometimes you need the extra cover and it saves a lot of cleaning

[@johngoodman9380]

I know not to believe my lying eyes, but most of the fret ends looked unfinished at the end of the video! Did anybody else notice that?

[@WhitefootGuitars]

More likely my bad camera work & shoddy editing… thanks for watching 👍

[@toddplager8676]

Thanks a ton great video. Much appreciated!!

[@WhitefootGuitars]

Thanks for watching, glad it helped you 👍

[@bradsmith7311]

Better ,more consistent result by turning the Drexel 90°.going parallel with the fret.this way any "grain" to the polishing goes the same way as bending the strings...smoother

[@WhitefootGuitars]

Thank you, I’ll try that next time 👍

[@bradsmith7311]

@WhitefootGuitars you are welcome sir,cheers from the Colonies

[@martin-1965]

Some great tips and tricks and lovely result. Only one thing bugged me was the two indents on the G track on the 1st and 2nd fret. Wondering why you decided to not sort those out before polishing?

[@WhitefootGuitars]

Thanks Martin, glad you liked the video & appreciate your giving time to comment. From memory, the owner didn’t want a re-fret and it wasn’t affecting his playing.

[@cyberpunk409]

Whatever cloth you're using to condition the fretboard seems rough, judging by the sound. Wouldn't that undo all the hard work you did to polish the frets? Seems like it would be logical to condition the fretboard first, then polish the frets and then use some kind of microfibre cloth to get rid of any gunk left over. I'm about to do this for the first time with a Dremel (done it plenty of times with 0000 steel wool, but way too much hassle). And yes, the Dremel bit should be rotated 90 degrees as others have said. I'll be using FRINE fret polish and lemon oil. Maybe I'll make a video too, if i can be bothered. Cheers

[@WhitefootGuitars]

Thanks for watching, I’m always changing how I do stuff, now using a leather strop as a final buff it removes it much better. I’ve found conditioning first gets polish residue stuck in it sometimes. Yeh, 90degrees is better but if there’s a lot of compound In a spot it goes everywhere. I’m more sparing with it now.

[@narupickles7982]

thanks for your videos

[@WhitefootGuitars]

Thank you for watching them, hope they helped 👍

[@alidalkus3853]

I noticed that frets on rosewood fretboard gets dirty and rusty much faster comparing to ebony fretboard. What do you think?

[@WhitefootGuitars]

I've not worked on many guitars with ebony fretboards so I've never noticed, though the player can make a difference - I was at college with a guy who had really sweaty hands - he could turn strings brown playing a gig; we never wanted to loan him our guitars.

[@michael_caz_nyc]

What was the "Exact model" Dremel Tool that you were using? They all look too Bulky when I say them ??? ( yours looks thin & easy to handle )

[@WhitefootGuitars]

Hi there, I have the 4000 model Dremel - the tool I’m using is the flexi-shaft attachment model no 225 - it’s like holding a pen but you can use any Dremel accessory with it.
I got it all together as a kit when I bought the tool but you can get them separately - it’s well worth getting as it makes it much easier to use.

[@michael_caz_nyc]

@@WhitefootGuitars Thanks brother. Enjoyed to info presented here. Great stuff.

[@dinzabringexd6396]

How do you polish frets without a dremel?

[@WhitefootGuitars]

Lint free cotton or microfibre cloths and elbow grease, not as quick but it’s a lot quieter the Dremel.
Thanks for watching 👍

[@Saurion1]

Well it definitely looks like you did damage the fretboard at 4:50, despite the "safe edge"

[@stalahoy]

What strength of rubbing alcohol do you use? what polishing compounds?

[@WhitefootGuitars]

I use Isopropyl rubbing alcohol & the polishing compounds are from Axeminster tools in the uk, medium, fine & super fine. Autosol chrome polish is also good for frets.

[@ItsKodieFranco]

May I know what polishing componds did you use?

[@WhitefootGuitars]

Sure, I used polishing compound from Axminster tools in the uk - www.axminstertools.com/medium-polishing-h
the link is for medium, they also do fine & super-fine which I used. They’re really good & easy to use & the bottles last a long time so good value.

[@cmurduh1]

Sooo… crowning isn’t a concern?

[@WhitefootGuitars]

Not when the owner doesn’t want it done, no. Thanks for watching 👍

[@joejitsumusic]

well for one, the bridge pickup is upside down.....

[@WhitefootGuitars]

Yes, it was. Thanks for watching 👍

[@alexdeleon7135]

Fret Butter would have saved you time on the last three steps, possibly the last four.

[@WhitefootGuitars]

Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll get some when I see it - I was using what I had to hand at the time

[@alexdeleon7135]

@@WhitefootGuitars I stock Fret Butter, Maple Butter, Guitar Clean, and Rabbit Fur. Let me know if you're interested. I'm sold out of the Rabbit Fur, but have an order arriving soon.

[@JohnKiernan-f8s]

U should of dressed the frets first lad, levelled them out , there is deep diverts in first 3 frets, pointless polishing frets and conditioning, cleaning board , u was saying how importent the frets were on a guitar,,, which they are, then u just cut corners , 😂

[@WhitefootGuitars]

Fixed it for you:
"You should have dressed the frets first lad, then levelled them out. There are deep divots in the first 3 frets; it's pointless polishing frets then conditioning and cleaning the board. you were saying how important the frets were on a guitar, which they are, then you just cut corners , 😂"
The owner didn't want me to dress them, just a clean & polish then a setup, but thanks for watching 👍

[@Tonetwisters]

ARGGHH! Masking tape the pickups. Open up the bag of 0000 steel wool and get crackin'! Cleans both the frets and the board. Use a magnet to collect the residue or a paper towel. Apply your favorite board oil. Apply strings. Tune. Play.

[@WhitefootGuitars]

Thanks for watching the video & commenting; point taken but I don’t like using wire wool so found another way. I’ve lately started using scotch-brite pads, does the same job but with less mess.

[@torsolveig]

🤔

[@WhitefootGuitars]

👍

[@zicowilco60]

What a load of malarkey...😮

[@WhitefootGuitars]

Thanks for watching 👍

[@leviridge3307]

dont do it

[@jmedi5589]

Don’t do what?

[@vintagetubeamplifiers]

@@jmedi5589 Put the bridge pick-up in backwards like that Strat has.

[@WhitefootGuitars]

It was sorted after I’d made the video. Thanks for watching