Plus, even if you changed your mind about the glossy thing, just a little bit of buffing with 0000 steel wool will "satin it back up" nicely without hardly taking any finish off. I did this to 4098 and it worked great. Just FWIW.
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TimothyGroovy
Commercial User
- Aug 3, 2000
- 2,374
- 2,097
- Disclosures
- Owner: Uni•Sound Endorsing Artist: Sadowsky Guitars, Olinto Bass, LaBella Strings
Chef
In Memoriam
If you just want to knock the gloss back down, I did this with a "fine grade" scotchbrite pad.
To be exact, that blue painter's tape. But I just flip it upside down and do it on the bench or maybe even put a ziplok baggie over the headstock/machines and stand it on the headstock over something soft/cleanable. Whatever... just use whatever common sense method you want to keep the metal fibers away from stuff (tho this particular job is not like cleaning tarnished frets... shouldn't generate too many fibers to deal with -- this is a really quick thing).
I use this to remove tarnish from frets. Very little paste required. Best stuff on the planet.
B.
Peek polish - Google Search
B.
Peek polish - Google Search
I generally avoid pastes and such on frets, as I'd rather not risk getting it in the wood grain, etc. Not a huge issue on maple (like your bass), but I'd be worried about an open grain board like ebony or especially rosewood. Very mild polishing materials (cloths, steel wool) work just fine for me, with no risk of residue and solvents, and don't contain any hazardous materials.
It takes me about 2 minutes to slap a pc of painter's tape along side the frets on my ROSEWOOD bd. Taping the pups for steel wool fibre protection takes about the same time. This "Peek"paste is used SO sparingly that it only dampens the cloth.
B.
B.
Yeah, but I don't have to tape the pickups. I lay the bass on the bench, so nothing ever gets to the pickups, but still just simply cover them with a cloth just in case. Also, noting you have to tape both sides of every fret before doing it, I'm thinking it might take a little more time than that overall for a fret polish job.
Plus, there are hazardous materials in that paste (I looked it up), and even though you don't use much, if non-chemical methods work just as well (which at least for me, they do), then I prefer those.
IMHO/IME anyway.
If you are getting anywhere near your instrument with 0000 steel wool, use a vacuum cleaner within an inch or two of your work. Keep the hose moving with the steel wool, and it will eliminate about 99% of any problems associated with it. Even when using tape, those fibers will break free and hang around. The vacuum keeps them from showing up later. 
I usually just scrape them up into a line and snort them. Who says I don't get enough iron in my diet, huh?If you are getting anywhere near your instrument with 0000 steel wool, use a vacuum cleaner within an inch or two of your work. Keep the hose moving with the steel wool, and it will eliminate about 99% of any problems associated with it. Even when using tape, those fibers will break free and hang around. The vacuum keeps them from showing up later.
