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How can I avoid flat spots when sanding?

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  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: Hayward, CA
Posted by MikeV on Sunday, March 7, 2004 10:25 AM
I love the Flex-I-Files too. I have four of them with different grits in each one.
You can also take scissors or an X-acto and a straight-edge and cut the sanding strips lengthwise to allow them to fit small areas such as between machine guns on wings, etc. I have some strips that are only 1/16" wide for this purpose and it's great.

Mike

Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. " Charles Spurgeon
  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: USA
Posted by MusicCity on Sunday, March 7, 2004 7:11 AM
Those are interesting, I haven't seen them before. I do basically the same thing, just by a more "Manual" means.

I open the jaws of my bench vice enough to give the part something to sit down in. I don't clamp it, just give it a groove to sit in. When the part is somewhat stable on the vice I sand the joints with thin strips of sandpaper held between both hands.

I like the Flex-i-files though since it leaves a hand free to hold the part. I'll have to look for some of them.
Scott Craig -- Nashville, TN -- My Website -- My Models Page
  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Harrisburg, PA
Posted by Lufbery on Thursday, March 4, 2004 7:43 AM
Thanks, guys. I'll need to look into those. I did a search for Flex-I-File and got this review:

http://www.s96920072.onlinehome.us/tnt1/001-100/TNT011_Flexi-file/TnT011.htm

It's actually from the Aircraft Resource Center web site.

The review doesn't say much more than you guys have, but it has pictures. That way I know what I'm looking for when I go to my LHS. Big Smile [:D]

Regards,

-Drew

Build what you like; like what you build.

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: The flat lands of the Southeast
Posted by styrene on Thursday, March 4, 2004 6:43 AM
Flex-i-files are the greatest thing going for ovoid shapes. Sanding "belts" are plastic backed and come in coarse, medium, and fine grits, and can be used wet or dry. At my LHS, Flex-i-file has a set of sanding sticks and the flex-i-file system in one blister pack.

Gip Winecoff

1882: "God is dead"--F. Nietzsche

1900: "Nietzsche is dead"--God

  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 3, 2004 7:33 PM
Drew, Micromark also has that tool called a Flex-I-File, that curves naturally around compound curves. It is $25.00 at www.micromark.com I don't have one yet, but It is on my wish list, and I have heard it mentioned numerous times in FSM.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 3, 2004 2:08 PM
Drew back up your sand paper with something that has a similar contour to what you're looking for. It should also be slighty soft-kinda like a sponge sander. I also trim first with a knife to eliminate high spots and keep sanding to a minimum.
  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Harrisburg, PA
How can I avoid flat spots when sanding?
Posted by Lufbery on Wednesday, March 3, 2004 1:40 PM
Hi all,

A couple of nights ago, I sanded off the seam on my Phantom's centerline fuel tank. The night before, I glued the tank together with liquid glue and let the gooey, liquidized plastic ooze out of the seam. That way, I could sand the dried ooze down and make the seam disappear. This is nothing new; I've read that tip so often that I'm convinced that’s how liquid glue is supposed to work.

Generally this technique works pretty well for me, but the fuel tank is small and has a much smaller circumference than, for example, the fuselage. So, while sanding just the seam on the bottom, I managed to create a bit of a flat spot.

I'm using Testors sanding films, and they're pretty flexible, so for the top of the tank, I tried to wrap the sand paper around the tank more. I ended up sanding more of the tank on either side of the seam, but the seam wasn't as flat as on the bottom.

It there a technique that makes this easier?

Regards,

-Drew

Build what you like; like what you build.

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