Cleaning needle files.

Great info i now know how clean my files the right way so much to learn here.Ron

I use lacquer thinner and/or a brass brush to clean files. Brass brushes can also be found in unusual places: I found a nice one in the shoe dept. that is used for cleaning suede shoes (including those Blue Suede Shoes belonging to Carl Perkins!) As long as the files are only used for plastics and paints, it usually works.

MEK is the solvent used in model cements. I found some at my local Ace Hardware store.

Yeah I can see that happening.

wing_nut

 

Milairjunkie:

 

I use a brass / bronze brush, the same as you would use to clean suede boots.

 

 

Roger that.  Dunno what kind of brush you are using the it is dulling the file.

It is the Dremel stainless wire wheel.  I try to brush along the grooves, but it is dulling it nonetheless.

Milairjunkie

I use a brass / bronze brush, the same as you would use to clean suede boots.

Roger that.  Dunno what kind of brush you are using the it is dulling the file.

And I believe it's kinda hazardous, causes cancer in rats in california. Nasty stuff, use with plenty of ventilation and gloves.

You'll be ok if you don't live in cali.

MEK = Methyl Ethyl Ketone, an industrial solvent that 'welds' plastics. It would certainly work to eat the plastic that gets caught in the file teeth!

Lacquer thinner.

Or use a lighter and just kinda melt all the gunk out.

It's a liquid solvent which will dissolve most things plastic, it's usually sold in "industrial" 1L / 5L tins. You can find out more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butanone

What's MEK?

I use MEK from Home Depot. I let em soak in a sealed container and then give them a quick brush with a stiff nylon bristol brush. I've done it for years and I haven't dulled a file yet.

Don, Dremel makes at least three brass brushes models 535, 536 & 537. You'll have to scroll down a bit for the brass section.

Gee, a brass brush sounds great.  It would be neat if dremel made a brass version of their wire brush in addition to the steel one.  As I get older and my hands more arthritic, I find I like power tools a lot more than I did in my younger days :-)   But, I guess a small brass manual brush wouldn't be too bad.

I use a brass brush as well and go with the grain of the file not against it so it slips through the grooves.

I use a brass / bronze brush, the same as you would use to clean suede boots.

I clean all my files with a dedicated file card but for small files like yours I use gun cleaning brushes. The typical bronze type bore brush isn't as harsh as s stiff cold steel or stainless brush. Something you may consider is soaking the file in a container of lacquer thinner to remove paint residue. This won't touch the resin ofcourse but maybe with the paint gone it will be less work to brush out the resin bits with a small bore brush.
If you decide to try a bore brush I'd recomend a small caliber like a .22. Bigger brushes have longer bristles and they tend to bend a deform easily while the shorter bristles are stiffer and work better, last longer.