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Post subject: coated frets
Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 4:48 pm
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hey i dont know if this is normal bot i just got a 2001 strat and the frets are covered in this clear/gold stuff and some of its cracking off. im not shure if the previous owner recoated the frets or not?


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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 4:56 pm
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i noticed a similar substance on the fret ends of my baja tele and 57hotrod. I think its a coating fender use on maple necks to make em look more attractive. I havent seen it on fret tops though.

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Post subject: Re: coated frets
Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 5:05 pm
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davericson wrote:
hey i dont know if this is normal bot i just got a 2001 strat and the frets are covered in this clear/gold stuff and some of its cracking off. im not shure if the previous owner recoated the frets or not?


It's possible either way. Yes, he recoated the fingerboard, frets and all or no, he simply didn't play the frets all that much where the coating is flaking off from.

I had many a maple Fender neck which had that problem (albeit, many years ago). I bought the guitars new but the finish on the fingerboard was right over the frets too. I either played the finish off the frets or continued chipping the cracking finish off the frets with the side of my pick. Either way, the finish on the fingerboard was unaffected. YMMV.

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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 5:56 pm
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They all come that way. it will wear off as time goes by.


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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 6:46 am
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It might have been from a previous owner using coated strings, some of them like Elixer Nanoweb's will do that.

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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 8:18 am
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Strat God wrote:
They all come that way. it will wear off as time goes by.

+1


I have owned 2 American made strats with maple necks and they also had the flaking finish on the frets straight from the factory. I scraped the finish off the frets with my thumbnail over time. If it doesn't really bother you I wouldn't worry about it. If you want to scrape it off I wouldn't advise using a metal tool to do it but a fingernail or maybe a plastic credit card probably won't damage anything.

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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 4:21 pm
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I've never seen that on any of my guitars. And I've worn down the frets enough on one of the guitars to have to have a fret dressing.

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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 4:27 pm
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Two ways to finish a maple fingerboard. Lacquer it first, then cut the fret slots and fret the neck. High-end luthier Mike DeTemple builds his necks that way:

http://www.detempleguitars.com/temp/build_intro.php

Or fret the neck and then lacquer it. That's the way Fender do it - and nearly everyone else. It's easier to mass produce, and there is a reasonable argument that the lacquer seals the join between fret and fingerboard preventing moisture and dirt penetrating beneath and attacking the wood, which would look much more unseemly on maple than a rosewood fingerboard.

Usually most of the lacquer gets scraped off the frets again during dressing, but sometimes not so much. Unless it is actually on the top (crown) of the fret it doesn't matter in the slightest. It will wear away quickly from any place your fingers contact the metal. And some think it gives a nice gentle golden glow to the metalwork...

Cheers - C


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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 8:36 pm
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What Ceri said +1


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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2008 3:50 pm
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I have never seen that stuff either...


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