Episode 3 of the 1993 Gibson Dove restoration is one of the most satisfying jobs on any guitar — cleaning the fretboard and polishing the frets. This guitar has been played a lot over the years, and it shows in the finger gunk built up along the frets, especially down in the cowboy-chord area. The tool for it is a chisel — not a gentle tool, but used gently: run it flat right along the edge next to the fret, don’t push, just let the weight of the chisel do the work. A damp paper towel takes the dirt off after that, and a chisel tip wrapped in a doubled-over wet paper towel gets into the little corner where the fret meets the board without scratching it.

Then comes 2000-grit wet sandpaper, worked wet in the direction of the grain and dried off after every couple of frets. It takes the last layer of gunk off and wakes the pearl inlays back up — some were still looking good, some had gone dull, and even a little sanding brings them back to life. One honest admission in the video: the fret work should have come first, so the order gets swapped mid-job. The frets are the slow part — the StewMac fret polishing kit has pads running from rough to smooth, plus a guard that sits over the fret so the board doesn’t get scratched, and the pads have a foam core so they wrap around the top and sides of the fret. It’s a fret-by-fret job through the whole set.

With the frets done, the board gets one more pass — 4000-grit wet/dry sandpaper to polish the inlays and clear the last gunk between the frets — then the finish: Gibson premium fretboard conditioner, from a kit made specifically for vintage guitars, and at 30 years old this Dove qualifies. This model has fret nibs, so there was no fret-end dressing to do. Next up is the big one: gluing the top back on (Episode 4).

Episode 2 (tuners): https://youtu.be/j6IgFExGHag
Episode 1 (unboxing): https://youtu.be/A2Of2qDKPtA