Advice on abrasive pad?

You might check out Alpha Abrasives http://www.alphaabrasives.com/hobby-abrasives.php for some neat ideas. (site owners, the link button seems to be broken)

I use sanding sticks (look like nail files) of various manufacture 99% of the time. Lately, I've been buying one with three surfaces from Sally Beauty supply. They are just like the ones made by a model manufacturer at 1/3 the cost. To my surprise, it is my go-to file lately. I can  maybe dig up a link if you want.

I've never found any use for Scotchbrite in making models. I make airplane parts for a living and we use ScotchBright regularly in the mfg process and it is great stuff, but the finest grade is too coarse for use on our precious styrene.

Just a couple quick thoughts to get things started. I'll bet this thread will end up with some great advice as folk see it. I think it's a good question. Looking fwd to learning something myself.

Scotchbrite has become sort of a generic "catch all" phrase to describe abrasive pads of all sorts, from cleaning pads intended for household chores to industrial sanding pads geared towards a lot of different prep/finishing applications. The namebrand pads are manufactured by 3M -

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/All-3M-Products/Abrasives/Industrial-Abrasives-Finishing/Hand-Pads/?N=5002385+8692962+8710644+8710812+8710964+8711017+3294857497&rt=r3

I'm not sure what Squadron recommends, but back in the early '90s, it became pretty common to see these mentioned in the Verlinden modeling manuals. VLS recommended the use of the green pad as a quick way to prep plastic to give a bit of tooth to paint and to level out pebbling and overspray. However, that came with a caveat to use only worn pads that had seen previous use, because (as Greg pointed out) it can be very aggressive and damage plastic otherwise.

Shep Paine advised to use steel wool to scour bare plastic for better adhesion, but if you've ever tried that, you understand what sort of a mess that can create with tiny bits of metallic fuzz clinging everywhere. It seemed that this solution was a bit easier because it did not generate as much debris.

Personally, I tend to avoid it because there are already tons of different sandpapers and finishing abrasives sitting in a drawer that don't required breaking in prior to actual use.

Greg

I use sanding sticks (look like nail files) of various manufacture 99% of the time. Lately, I've been buying one with three surfaces from Sally Beauty supply. They are just like the ones made by a model manufacturer at 1/3 the cost. To my surprise, it is my go-to file lately. I can  maybe dig up a link if you want.

Greg is dead on here. My wife works for Sally's and with her discount I've bought a bulk case of sanding sticks for under $10. It will last me a very long time, have also found that I'm not using one over what it's usefull life is anymore since they are so cheap.

Like Greg and Rambo, I buy my sanding sticks and blocks at Sally's. I also have a set of Micromesh sheets from MicroMark which are useful for polishing canopies or smoothing small paint blemishes.

What I use most are 3M and other branded sanding pads that I get at a local automotive finishes store. They come in a variety of grits from pretty aggressive to microfine which feels like 600 grit. The pads are used for sanding and rubbing out auto paints, so they can be used wet or dry and last a long time. They are 4-1/2" x 5-1/2", and are foam backed so they are easily cut to useful sizes, and cost around a buck each. The same store also sells wet & dry sandpaper sheets in fine grits down to 2400, also very inexpensive.

dlh

What abrasive pad do you use for cleaning up styrene or resin parts.  I watched a Squadron video and he was using one on resin parts.  Do you use true Scotch Brite?  Is Scotch Brite made of metal?  Or do you use a nylon version?  I can't find on on Squadron's site and my searches are showing mostly sanding pads and I have those.

Thanks,

Dave 

Well, can you be more specific about cleaning up?  Do you mean, removing sprue gates or pour gates, for example?  Cleaning up and hiding seams?  If those are things you're talking about, then no, I don't use those green scouring pads to do those things.  I use sandpaper, sanding and polishing pads, emery boards, and metal files, all of various grits or levels of abrasiveness.

I do have a place for the green scouring pads in my tool kit.  On my Maschinen Krieger kits, I will prime them with Army Painter matte black enamel, which cures rock-hard.  I apply finish coats with acrylics.  Then I use the scouring pad to scuff away the acrylic colors, revealing the black below.  It's a good weathering effect.  Apparently some armor modelers also use that technique.

I also use them on metal figures to smooth out mold lines or nicks and burrs.

And of course, they're good for cleaning other tools or equipment on the bench, just as you would use them in your kitchen or elsewhere.

Hope that helps!

Best regards,

Brad

Cleaning up parts sounds like a bad idea. Too prone to damage. For actually shaping things or removing material, I use nail sticks from the CVS. I go through them pretty quickly, but they are cheap.

They can be cut with a blade to make smallet pieces to get in tight spots.

For rubbing down coats of paint, I use Micro Mesh pads. If you take care of them, they last quite a while.

GMorrison

I use nail sticks from the CVS. .............They can be cut with a blade to make smallet pieces to get in tight spots.

Holy cow, what a good idea. I'm always wishing I could find narrower sanding sticks. Never thought of cutting down a nail file.

I use a scalpel or hobby knife with #10 blade for rough shaping, and a needle file for finer cleanup.  I bought a decent set of needle files about fifteen years ago, and swear by them for many things, including seam cleanup.  They do need to be replaced every so often, but they are not that expensive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eo1u0UTfoY&t=783s

This is the video (at 12:55) that shows the "multipurpose pad" that he's using to clean up resin parts.  I've bought both versions of the Haunebu II.  It will be my first time using resin parts so I'm collecting tools etc. that I might need.

Dave

After watching the video, I'd say that the use of the pad is purely a personal preference - the same results can be achieved with the sanding stick he leaves sitting on the bench or a bit of sandpaper.

That's a useful video. More on that in a minute.

That looks like a Scotchbrite "no scratch" pad made for teflon/ no stick pans. It's made out of some sort of mineral fiber.

I've never tried that, my only concern would be scratching. Resin comes in all kinds of hardnesses, as does plastic. Where he uses it is to get into crevasses in that oxygen hose type of part. I'd be really careful on otherwise smooth surfaces.

Other comments. The modeler is pretty oblivious to dust control. Resin dust is an irritant and you do not want to breath it. Esp. if you use the tool he refers to but doesn't use, a belt sander. I don't think you need to wear a mask, but working on a surface that can be folded up and tipped into a garbage bag, and sweeping up after, are important.

His tools that figure most are the little razor saw, the Xacto, sanding sticks and sand paper.

The saw and the Xacto are self explanatory.

I get those sanding sticks in the cosmetics section at CVS. They can be cut into smaller pieces or have their edges renewed.

For sanding, one thing I would add is to tape it down on a very flat surface. Draw sand the part over that, don't rub them together loosely.

Now, he just solved a problem of filling a gap that I've been struggling with, using plastic card.

Thanks for posting that.

hey Guys !

 I went to my forty per-cent off place yesterday .yeah , Hobby Lobby ! 

 I found a neat new Flexi-File tool .It's a Nylon ? Handle and it ends in a cone .The self adhesive wedges that come with it Fit so well I now have a Seam-Less cone shaped sanding tool .

Pictures!

As an auto body tech, I have access to the foam backed 3M superfine pads (400 grit), work great, also the fine gray scotchbrite pads.  Use those to put a little "tooth" in either bare plastic before primer or as a final light scuff before color coats.  Can be had at any auto paint supplier and most auto parts stores. I just cut down to whatever width/size needed.

Like most other have posted, I tend to use nail file boards for most of seam/filler work, along with the 1/8 to 3/16 square 150 to 240 grit soft sticks (Blue/green and white).  Those I pick up at HL for the most part.

Nail files will pick up at Wally World or another local box store.