X-Acto vs Files vs Sandpaper

X-Acto hardly ever used.
Files got a selection to make the spanish inquisition jealous.
Sandpapers, use it a lot. Also sanding pads, sanding sticks, sadning blocks, polishing compounds, etc.

I use cutter and snap-off blade knifes for seperating parts from a tree, casting spout and than use either sandpaper or files depending space, curvature, etc for fine cleanup.

Really depends I have had resin kits where I got rid of the mold lines by using the backside of the blade to scrap it off, down to parts where the molds were misaligned by as much as 2mm(talk about fun).

Blitz -

Probably the worst answer you'll get: I use all of the above. The knife is the quickest, but has the greatest chance of error, even if you're "just scrapping". I tend to lean towards different grits of sand paper from 200 - 600, for most things. Files are for areas I can't get into with sandpaper.

So, the part you're not going to like? After a while, you'll just know, what works best for YOU in a given situation!

Archer out.

Use all three myself, hard to explain when I use each, just know by looking at the model

Yeah about that, what is the deal with the sandpaper grits.
I mean I use the 150 grit, thats fine but the 600 is almost like regular sandpaper. Wouldent that just scratch up your model? I have never used anything above 200 grit, any higher seems like suicide to me.

I have to used grits from 240 down to 3000. My LHS carries up to 2000 grit.

Hi BlitzZ! My fvaourite tools are the knife and the sandpaper as I don't own any files. Generally, I don't use the knife to remove a lot of plastic as it also a good way to remove a lot of skin. Trust me. I know! I will however use it remove flash. If I have to, I'll use 240 grit to take plastic down but for the most part, I don't use anything less than 400 grit sandpaper. Depending on the job, I'll use from 400 to 1200 grit. Don't forget, the larger the grit number, the finer it is. Also, if I need to get into tight spots, I'll wrap some paper around the tip of the knife blade and work with that or whatever else my imagination comes up with. It's all experience. Hope this helps.

BlitzZ.

If you are interested i can send you a pic of my file collection, just have to some out of the drawer with the wireloops.

I tend to use all three, with the xacto being the most frequent by far, and the sandpaper barely ever being used. Files however, I find very useful, and use them almost as much as the knife when it comes to parts cleanup.

What kind of files do you guys use? The only file I have is huge and I use it for wood working.

I use large metal-working files, and three different nail files. I find them perfect, as they are easy to grip, and are usually rough on both sides, but very finely so. Also use some needle-files, and a set from Excell that aren't quite "needle" sized, but are small and of differing shapes.

QUOTE: Originally posted by marineman25 What kind of files do you guys use? The only file I have is huge and I use it for wood working.

I use a selection of files, ok pic will be forthcoming sometime today or tomorrow.

Anybody also wants to see my collection of sculpting tools??

I use a set of jewelers files that are diamond dust embedded. However, these were given to me from a friend who is in the jewelery business. I have no idea of the cost of such tools and didn't ask.

Dean

While I use all three, I most commonly use the X-acto knife, mostly the edge opposite the cutting edge. There is a bevel there that creates a good scraping/filing edge that works very well for me. It's not as sharp as the cutting edge, so you are less likely to gouge your plastic. I find that this method works well on the sprue attachment points and parts made of two halves like gun barrels where a seam needs to be fixed.

I use jeweler's file with diamond dust too, they cost less than $20 for a set of 10 with different profiles.

Use sanding sticks, file, and sandpaper to remove exacess plastic. Only use Xacto if I need to cut somehting.

I use all three also, and just like someone else said, after a while you just look at the situation and know which will work best.