3M polishing paper

[jojokeo]

I recently found out about a fairly new product by 3M called wet/dry polishing paper. It comes in a 6 piece assorted set 8 1/2" x 11" of different micron grits of 30, 15, 9, 3, 2, & 1. These are quite simply the bomb. You say goodbye to standard wet/dry sandpaper and steel wool. They each have their little drawbacks like small little fibers which can find their way attaching to pickups and other places or the little dark grit, etc. The paper is very pliable, flexible, and easy to use while producing a superior finish and end result for nuts, fretwork, even polishing places on your body and neck areas. They work well for plastic hazing you get on your car's headlights and many other uses you can find for even fine furniture, etc.

I recently replaced a tone sucking & tuning problematic Graph Tech Tusq nut on one of my Strats with a real bone nut - and am sooo happy I finally gave in and did. I will NEVER use a Graph Tech nut again. The guitar has resonance and tone it never did before, it made a really HUGE difference. When finished I used the polishing paper to show the result of using this magical stuff. Highly recommended.

[jojokeo]

Here's another example using it on one of my Tele's nuts.

[jjasilli]

Wow, great shine!!!  Gotta get some. 

[jjasilli]

Got these:  http://www.amazon.com/Zona-37-948-Polishing-11-Inch-Assortment/dp/B001BHGC7G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455043835&sr=8-1&keywords=3m+polishing+paper


But there also seems to be a more traditional opaque paper:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-Wet-or-Dry-Polishing-Papers-12-5-5-x-4-25-Sheets-2-Sets-of-6-Grits-/171449778901?hash=item27eb3402d5:g:fBkAAOxyHIlTacMk

[jojokeo]

The first one is what and where I got mine from. They ship super fast and are in full sheets. The nice thing is they include a small chart to remind you which color is which grit (very handy from things I've read where some don't include this). The 2nd link appears to be that they cut the sheets in half for some reason? Good price though-

[jjasilli]

Yes, the 2nd one seems to be an opaque paper.  But it seems that the grit may wear off that one, which is what you suggest to avoid.  I've been meaning to get some stuff for finer polishing, but the micro mesh pads @ StewMac are very expensive.


You can also use this product on frets, and to polish and hone knives and tools.

[jojokeo]

I'm not sure about the durability yet as I've only used it for the two nuts so far w/ 2" x 2" pieces. But so far so good. I didn't fold it around a nut slot file yet but this can be done too instead of the abrasive chord for polishing nut & saddle slots.

I saw this on stewmac also but about 33% more money. You gotta be careful with them, their products aren't always the best. Case in point, I bought a tele pick guard for an American model. It didn't fit right in cut and hole placements. On the back said "made in korea" and it was more money too. Very sad. I returned it immediately and bought an Allparts one for less that did fit & cut properly and was "made in USA". Very disappointed in stewmac for this stuff and not the first time either.

[G._Hoffman]

OK, I'm trying to make a living doing this stuff, and time is money, but what we do is sand things pretty quickly with everything from 60-1500 or 2000.  Then, it gets a quick polish on a spiral stitched cotton buffing wheel and some white jeweler's rouge.  It cuts out about 2/3's of the time of using polishing papers, which matters when you're making your living with this stuff!


Gabriel

[G._Hoffman]

I saw this on stewmac also but about 33% more money. You gotta be careful with them, their products aren't always the best. Case in point, I bought a tele pick guard for an American model. It didn't fit right in cut and hole placements. On the back said "made in korea" and it was more money too. Very sad. I returned it immediately and bought an Allparts one for less that did fit & cut properly and was "made in USA". Very disappointed in stewmac for this stuff and not the first time either.

The quality of their tools is a lot higher, and there are a few things they make and sell which are first rate.  You just have to know which things to get!  Waverly tuners are fantastic, for instance.  Now, I would say that only about 1 in 3 of their tools are actually useful, but the quality is always good.  They make the only metal dome knobs I actually like, too.


Gabriel

[jojokeo]

You just have to know which things to get!

And how are people to know what is not disclosed? They don't come out and say where things are made or imported from. Same thing happened with a Les Paul guard - wrong size and poor color match both. Pickup rings - same thing. Fender knobs, yep those too. But - they've likely had so many complaints and returns they must've felt compelled to say something there.

This kind of stuff is horrendous and conflicting completely with their tools and repair business they supposedly stand for? Repairs are more commonly made to quality instruments for a reason - they are worth the time, money, and investment. But stewmac sells inferior cheap imported parts in support of all the teaching and their specialized tools. Say what you want but this is a very poor business model not to be proud of, imitated, or emulated. They deserve to be called out on this because it's BS. And I'll say again there's a lot more they don't sell or teach right but I digress...they have every right to manage their business poorly.

[jjasilli]

I think a distinction needs to be made between parts & tools.  Retrofitting new parts to old gear will always be a problem, even if it shouldn't be. 


Tools are a different matter.  StrewMac sells a lot of special purpose tools, which are always expensive.  It helps to have access to good advice.  My luthier scoffs at special purpose tools.  E.g., Sometimes it's hard to get at a truss rod nut.  Instead of buying an expensive dedicated wrench, he grinds down the diameter a standard socket wrench on the bench grinder. 


Also, if you make or mod your own tools & jigs, you gain experience working with metal and wood, and power tools.  This experience is applicable to working on more refined things like guitars and amp chassis.


@G. Hoffman:  what size buffing wheel -- Dremel? Bench polisher? 8" 12"?

[jojokeo]

I think a distinction needs to be made between parts & tools.  Retrofitting new parts to old gear will always be a problem, even if it shouldn't be. 

I agree JJ but who wants cheaply made inferior quality replacement parts from foreign lands on their 40 or 50 instrument? With the specialized tools provided for specialized quality repairwork they want to sell you crap to use after all of this time, effort, and money is put into this...? It just doesn't make sense and no excuse is a good one on this front. I'm sure you can see my point? If they want to sell various grades to be competitive, then fine. But they should at least have quality parts available and charge more for it. And if people want to try or chance on cheaper, then that's the customer's call. As it is now, they aren't doing this.

[Ed_Chambley]

I used to use an 8" buffing wheel and jewelers rouge for the final finish on frets and polishing nuts and such.  Saw a video on Mojotone's website where their guy taped off the fretboard, put the blue paper shop towels in a palm sander and use Blue Magic Mag Wheel Polish.  For the tight places I use the towel and my finger.

Have an old Samick Telecaster neck that I refretted, leveled and crown (I am not what I consider good enough to touch a nice instrument refret).  I said what the heck, and gave the mag polish a try.  Never going back.  The neck turned out so good I got a body off ebay and a Barden Bridge.  Things plays so good that I have since done the rest of my guitars.  I can tell a huge difference in the smoothness when doing chord vibrato and double stop bends.

If you want to see something check http://www.aliexpress.com/ and you will see a lot of the same tools Stew Mac sells for about a 10th of the price.  Just search for luthier tools.  I know its Chinese, but that is where I believe they are getting some of their merchandise.

This growing trend of using stainless steel frets is upping the tool price for luthiers.  I have to admit I have Suhr Modern Pro that has Jescar SS frets and I really like them.  Been playing the guitar daily for almost a year and I do not see the first sign of fret wear and I am a little heavy handed.

[Willabe]

This growing trend of using stainless steel frets is upping the tool price for luthiers.  I have to admit I have Suhr Modern Pro that has Jescar SS frets and I really like them.  Been playing the guitar daily for almost a year and I do not see the first sign of fret wear and I am a little heavy handed.

Do the SS frets sound any different? Are they brighter sounding?

[jjasilli]

@jojo:  I feel your pain.  But buying on the internet is a bit of a crap shoot, because you can't see, hear, feel what you're buying.  Probably a reputable seller will accept a return, but maybe it's not worth the shipping, etc.  I try to look as it as part of the price of the learning curve, which includes sourcing parts & supplies.  Heck, it's cheaper than paying tuition.

@GH:  thanks for the buffing info.  It's great to know how the masters do it.  I have 8" buffing wheels from Harbor Freight.  But all I have is a big, fat old grinder motor with fairly short axles.  A true polishing station with long arbors is quite expensive and so are good buffing wheels; also takes up a lot of floor space.  Essential for the pro I guess.

@ed:  thanks for this useful info.  I just did my 1st fret re-leveling, crowning and dressing, on 2 of my guitars after decades of fear & intimidation.


@Willabe:  I just saw some internet posts on this recently, and I think a youtube video -- in which a famous player felt that an SS re-fret dulled(!!!) the tone of his vintage LP.  There does not seem to be a clear answer or opinion on this question. 

[Willabe]

@Willabe:  I just saw some internet posts on this recently, and I think a youtube video -- in which a famous player felt that an SS re-fret dulled(!!!) the tone of his vintage LP.  There does not seem to be a clear answer or opinion on this question.

Dulled the tone????? How can that be? It's a much harder material. If there's any change in tone it's got to be brighter.     

At 1st that's what I was reading, it was brighter, then that seemed to not be mentioned as a negative.

I'm very hard on frets and I would love to have frets that don't wear out so quickly. 

[jojokeo]

In the first post that Strat has stainless frets. I don't think there's any difference in tone quality personally. Maybe if you play only one guitar and change strings every week or two you just might hear a difference if you got a re-fret on the same guitar? But I think it's more subjective and there are those that will say it makes a difference even if they would never admit that they can't actually hear it. Rather they rationalize since it's a different material "it just has to have a difference".
I've been using the Blue Poly Mag Polish in a tube for years. Especially works well for amp & guitar jacks (and chord plugs too). A tiny bit on a Q-tip works wonders for good connections. I have used it many times on frets too. Anything metal is worth protecting & polishing with it. I'm sure Mother's Mag polish would be just as good but it's in a jar is all, both available at the local auto supply store.
 

[Ed_Chambley]

I would not say the SS frets make much difference, but I really have no way of comparing them.  The Suhr Modern Pro is a H-S-H and has John Suhr's pups.  It is a bright guitar or can be, but it is not frets.  It is absolutely the best playing guitar I have ever played.  They are not cheap tho.  It has a compound radius neck 10-14.

John was a Fender Custom Shop guy at one time, then made a Pensa Suhr guitar for Mark Knoffler and well the rest is history.

I don't know how they have done it, but you can get all the Strat tones like position 2 and 4 quack.  Anyway, I am not a spokesman for Suhr.  You can get them any way you wish.  Mine is partially coil tapped in position 2 and 4.  They tap over half of the wind so it doesn't thin out like traditional coil tapping.  I have yet to remove the cover to inspect the electronics and how it is wired up.  I just play it.

The SS frets feel the same, but I have no little divots you normally get in common chording areas.  The very first time I played it I did notice fretting felt very precise, but so do Tom Anderson Guitars.  There may be some difference in tone, but I think the only way one could ever know for sure is to have your favorite guitar refretted with them.

[Ritchie200]

In the first post that Strat has stainless frets. I don't think there's any difference in tone quality personally. Maybe if you play only one guitar and change strings every week or two you just might hear a difference if you got a re-fret on the same guitar? But I think it's more subjective and there are those that will say it makes a difference even if they would never admit that they can't actually hear it. Rather they rationalize since it's a different material "it just has to have a difference".

Yeah, that's exactly like people who think they can tell the difference between graphtech and bone nuts.... Ha!

Jim

[jojokeo]

Yeah, that's exactly like people who think they can tell the difference between graphtech and bone nuts.... Ha!

Jim

  or exactly like people who think they can tell the difference between 6550s and KT88s... Oh that's gotta hurt 

jojo 

[jjasilli]

 

[Ritchie200]

Judging from the other guitar noted in the discussion...... Well, I rest my case.

Jim  };0)

[jojokeo]

Judging from the other guitar noted in the discussion...... Well, I rest my case.

You mean sort of like this one?

[G._Hoffman]

I think a distinction needs to be made between parts & tools.  Retrofitting new parts to old gear will always be a problem, even if it shouldn't be. 


Tools are a different matter.  StrewMac sells a lot of special purpose tools, which are always expensive.  It helps to have access to good advice.  My luthier scoffs at special purpose tools.  E.g., Sometimes it's hard to get at a truss rod nut.  Instead of buying an expensive dedicated wrench, he grinds down the diameter a standard socket wrench on the bench grinder. 


Also, if you make or mod your own tools & jigs, you gain experience working with metal and wood, and power tools.  This experience is applicable to working on more refined things like guitars and amp chassis.


@G. Hoffman:  what size buffing wheel -- Dremel? Bench polisher? 8" 12"?

A lot of their special tools are a waste, but some of them are absolutely essential to some jobs.  I would never try to make a nut without the gauged nut files they (and others) sell, not anymore.  We used to do it, of course, but there is no way around the fact that a special tool does a better job in this case.  Or the tool they make for fixing worn bridge plates, which does something you just can't do without it, and which is a very good fix for the problem - previously, we had to replace the bridge plate, which is about 5 times more expensive and has a significant effect on the value of the guitar.  Tools like that aren't expensive, because they pay for themselves extremely quickly. 

Then there are the tools which are really aimed at amateurs - things like the neck jig for fret work.  Those things do the job intended reasonably well, and can make it easier for someone who doesn't know what they are doing, but waste a lot of time for anyone who wants to make a living (time is money, after all!) 

Then there are the things which are just dumb, like the notched straight edge, or most of their dial indicator tools.  Those do nothing particularly useful, and aren't really worth having. 

The only parts I really buy from them, as I said, are dome knobs and some of their tuners (and yes, Waverly's really are worth the money - very nicely made).  Their plastics are definitely not worth getting.

The buffer is just a basic bench top grinder, but we put a couple buffing wheels on them.  It is important to get the stiffest buffing wheels you can get, though - it helps to keep the edges really clean.  Hence the spiral stitched wheels.  The current one is nice because it has an 1800 RPM motor, which keeps the heat down. 


Gabriel

[G._Hoffman]

@GH:  thanks for the buffing info.  It's great to know how the masters do it.  I have 8" buffing wheels from Harbor Freight.  But all I have is a big, fat old grinder motor with fairly short axles.  A true polishing station with long arbors is quite expensive and so are good buffing wheels; also takes up a lot of floor space.  Essential for the pro I guess.

Nothing like that - it's just a little bench grinder with some buffing wheels on them.  One of the nice things is it's actually a pretty safe tool to use, too.  Avoid long sleeves (as with ANY rotating tool!), but other than that, there isn't too much that can hurt you, as long as you make sure it hits your fingernails trailing edge.  Good way to shine your fingernails, too!  We have one wheel for bone, and one for metal.

We've got a big buffer for finishes too, but those wheels are a lot softer.


Gabriel

[G._Hoffman]

In the first post that Strat has stainless frets. I don't think there's any difference in tone quality personally.

I've never really heard much difference, but I know a lot of guys who have better ears than mine who can consistently hear the difference, and say they are a bit brighter.  But not so much it bothers them, given the other benefits of stainless frets.


Gabriel

[G._Hoffman]

Yeah, that's exactly like people who think they can tell the difference between graphtech and bone nuts.... Ha!

In how they wear, absolutely!


Gabriel