| I actually usually do a fret polish like that every time I change strings, guess I have pretty corrosive oils in my hands because they always need it.
I just either blow off or vacuum the steel wool particles instead of trying to catch them with tape, and after I use the steel wool on the frets I finish up by hitting them with a Q-Tip dipped in Brasso metal polish. This really goes the last distance in making them smooth and shiny, but it's probably not necessary, just something I like to do. I feel I should also mention that wearing a rubber glove is a good idea whenever you're using the steel wool even if you're not finicky like you. It's an abrasive, whether on the surface you're working or your fingers. I didn't use a glove the first time I did this, and it took the first couple layers of skin off my thumb and forefinger, and they were pretty sore and tender for a week or so until it came back.
I lemon oiled my old Ibanez RG7421 and my old Hamer five string bass, but my Schecter hasn't needed it yet and I've had the thing for a year and a half. It seems like it has some kind of sealer on the rosewood or something, because it's still dark and smooth. If I had a lighter colored rosewood board around I'd definitely think about dying it, yours looks great! But both my acoustic and my Schecter have really dark boards, and my other two are maple.
I still find it surprising that so few guitarists seem to know how to do this, it just seems like standard maintenance to me. I see really good guitarists with nasty, gritty frets and guitars that just haven't been cleaned in general in months or years all the time. And it feels so much better to play on new strings and just polished frets! I cringe when I pick up most guitars in a store, the frets are just nasty. |