Fret leveling process

[carfish7]

So, I took a couple guitars in to a local "repairman" and have a couple issues.

When doing a fret level and recrown, is there any reason to apply abrasive to the fretboard itself? I have a Vinatge S that needed this done, and the frets are nice and rounded again but I the area between frets is no longer that rich reddish color except right on either side of the fret - the rest is a darker greyish/blackish color and it sure looks like it was abraded somehow. I suspect the dude went at it with some steel wool or something and did not cover the fretboard. Why would anyone need to touch the fretboard wood when doing a recrown?!?

I also lazily had him wire up a pair of humbuckers in an Ibanez Iceman since my soldering iron is such a POS. 2 pickups, V,V,T, and a 3-way. The pickups were Ibanez V7 & V8 with 3 conductors. He couldn' get it sorted. It is unusable due to hum and buzz. Fuck.ry, my Vintage S now has a number of small impressions in the finish that were not there before, and the Iceman has a few extra scratches.

I shoulda just saved a few more bucks and sent this stuff to Murkat, or done it myself (soldering).

Insult to inju

Twin Cities guys stay away from Mpls Guit Repair. He's a hacker.

[zenmindbeginner]

The rosewood can be sanded back with a combination of 600 grit, micro mesh pads (1500) and elbow grease. The 1500 grit micro mesh pads can be ordered through Tower Hobbies.. the brand is Revell. You can get high grit 3M sandpaper at your local auto supply store. Scratch-X is great for removing fine scratches and swirls but you prolly won't need it.

Lastly, you'll wanna refresh the Rosewood's natural oils which will even out the color difference.

It's fixable.

The wiring is poorly grounded... make sure that all grounds go to the top of a volume pot and that the pot has a ground to the bridge. With three conductors, each humbucker has a dedicated ground conductor and they are most likely the same color. Take a pic of the cavity if you have the time and post it here please.

[carfish7]

I discovered that the "hot" wire dude soldered in was a tap, not the hot wire. How did I learn this? I used my damn meter!

The input jack was also wired oddly, and when I went to move a ground wire aside to see what was up, the whole blob popped off the back of the pot, so.........

Hack job.

Now, 1 further question - do I need to use the "tap" lead or does it just get taped off? It is currently disconnected and I am getting full rip and no hum, so I'm inclined to just let it float.

Thanks, ZMB.

[backinit]

Just tape it or use a piece if shrink tubing about 1/8" longer than the exposed wire and "shrink it".