Rickenbacker Refrets

[egosheep]

If a Ric needs a partial refret(on the lower frets), can it be done without refinishing the entire fretboard? Or is it better to just refret the whole thing and refinish afterwards?

[jingle_jangle]

It can be done, but it won't look like it should. Pulling the old frets usually leads to damage to the varnish on either side of the fretwire. Upon refretting, that damage still shows. I suppose that the fretboard could be partially revarnished, but there are no guarantees that it will look the same as the rest of the board, and it could take nearly as long as a complete refret.

In the case of a Rick with a bound neck, you can't refret efficiently without rebinding, too, so that must be factored in as well.