Black fret wire

[Larry McInnes]

Is there such a thing as black fret wire?  Or can I make it?

[Michael Gajeski]

if you could find some silver fretwire, you could probably use one of those chemicals that will give it a patina. that should turn it black. or you could try to find some black fishing line or some other type of black cord.

[The Phrygian Kid]

buffalo horn or ebony.. id go with horn.. need a linisher or belt sander..

[BenBob]

If there was, I'm sure B.C. Rich would be using it. Any kind of bluing or plating would wear off the crowns pretty quickly. The closest you could probably come is a very dense plastic, but I doubt it would sound like metal frets.

[The Phrygian Kid]

I honestly doubt there is any plastic up to the task anywhere..
maybe nasa..
cf material of some sort.. maybe..
still reckon horn or antler is ur best bet.. and no, it wont sound like nickel... it'll sound better..
i got a bone fret build on the cards, i really want black and white frets too...

[Larry McInnes]

So Jef, that NASA thing got me thinking (uh oh). Carbon fiber would be pretty darn strong.

[Hey, TURN IT DOWN!]

Be cautious if you pursue using Carbon Fiber. Please take the proper precautions....cut it under running water, and wear a quality mask. The dust from CF is nasty stuff. I use it allot in my aircraft, and my wife says I look like a hazmat guy when I get prepped to cut it...

Larry McInnes said:

So Jef, that NASA thing got me thinking (uh oh). Carbon fiber would be pretty darn strong.

[Dave Breault]

I know it would be harder than hell to cut, but what about spring steel?

[NoxTerran]

why not ask Gitty? he's the resident fretwire supplier on here, maybe he knows or can get some. just a thought

[BenBob]

Delrin is up to it. It's the same material "Tortex" picks are made of:

http://www.dreamguitars.com/preowned/boaz/boaz_clarita_negra_1999/b...

Jef Long said:

I honestly doubt there is any plastic up to the task anywhere..
maybe nasa..
cf material of some sort.. maybe..
still reckon horn or antler is ur best bet.. and no, it wont sound like nickel... it'll sound better..
i got a bone fret build on the cards, i really want black and white frets too...

[Michael Gajeski]

maybe there is some way to powder coat normal fretwire, i bet that would hold up.

[Wild Rover]

You might try black annealed wire. It comes in a lot of different gauges. I got some 18# at my local lumber yard.

[Tracy Kennedy]

Although Powder Coat is chip resistant it would eventually wear. Typically PC aplication is about 3mil thick. Another problem is generally we cut our fret wire long and file the bevel, flatten the tops for level and recrown. How are you going to do all that with a PC finish without exposing the nickel?

Michael Gajeski said:

maybe there is some way to powder coat normal fretwire, i bet that would hold up.