Ibanez GRX40JE Overhaul | Part 5

Related Posts

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

Did some work on the fretboard and frets today. Started off by straightening the neck, then scraped the Rosewood fretboard clean of gunk, crud and other unmentionables. This was followed by a good scrub with maroon and gray 3M Scotch-Brite Pads. At this stage, the poor condition of the frets was clearly visible. I think you can guess what was next.

Yes, it was time for a full fret dressing. The fret tops were first marked, and then carefully leveled with a leveling beam. A Fret Rocker was used for periodic checks. "Fall-away" was also incorporated into the last eight frets. Once I'd achieved the desired results, the fret tops were again marked, and out came the StewMac Centered Z-File. This file makes quick work of recrowning, thanks to the fast cutting 300-grit diamond abrasive. 

Following this, the frets were abraded and polished to remove any tool marks from preceding procedures. The final step was fretboard conditioning with Dunlop Lemon Oil. All of the oil was soaked up by the thirsty rosewood in no time at all. A new bone nut was also installed, as per the owner's request.

Scraping the fretboard clean

Here's the result

After a good scrub with 3M Scotch-Brite Pads

Frets are in poor shape

Fret tops marked in blue

Initial leveling highlights low spots

Fret leveling nearly completed

Fret Rocker in use

Incorporating "fall-away"

Leveled fret tops marked in green

Recrowning the fret tops

Abrading and polishing the frets

Fretboard after a generous dose of Lemon Oil