Hosco fret erasers, my experience

[polokojo]

I had recently got a nice 1993 Stingray 5 and its frets had some oxidation.
So I ordered a set of Hosco fret erasers and after watching a couple of YT tutorials, I tried to polish the frets myself, having absolutely no previous experience at all.

I used masking tape to protect the fingerboard and I started polishing with #150 grade and worked my way up to #1000, using two different angles, one for the top of the frets and a one for the sides:

You can also see the difference between the untreated frets and the polished ones.
Overall I'm really happy with the result, this is a nice tool, easy to use if you protect the fingerboard properly (the masking tape worked great). Needless to say, my bass looks and feels amazing now.

I also used them to fix some fret ends issues on my other bass, a Japanese Fender Jazz, and they did the job, although there are probably better tools for that.

 

[BGroovy]

nice! And that's some nice birdseye on an early sr5!

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Never heard of them before, great idea, you did a great job.
The old frets were certainly in serious need of rehab.
Tape works great, I use StewMac chip stoppers for this kind of thing too.

 

[FatOwlBass]

Great work! I use 5000 grit cushioned sandpaper from autozone after those fret erasers and then buff them with light polishing compound. it takes them up a notch to a mirror like shine.

 

[lowfreqman]

I have had similar positive experiences with StewMac's version of these fret erasers. They are very easy to use and produce great results.

 

[erratick]

The cheap and cheerful alternative:

Nail buffer block. You can get them in singles if you only do this once every now and then. Or you can get a 20 pack for cheap at a beauty store or from online wholesaler.

You still need to tape off or use a fret protector.

A couple swipes with each side from the roughest to smoothest on each fret. That's how I do my fret polishing after level and crown, or if they just need a little touch up.

 

[mikecd1]

I have a set of the Hosco and they work well with the tape especially for extreme oxidization. Have also used the D'Addario fret polish kit which was super fast and easy to use for less heavy oxidation. I've used the edige of the Hosco's on sharp frets if I'm filing those as well sometimes.