2000 grit sandpaper - Any need for anything finer ?

I prefer Scotchbrite. And a Flexi-File.

Musicman59 wrote: : : My Ace hardware carries sandpaper only up to 2000. Is finer paper : made ? Necessary for model building? : Yes, finer sanding medium is made, but it is generally a polishing cloth, rather than a "sand paper".

Do you need it? I don't. I have a pack of assorted sand paper decades ago, and I still have not used most of it. I use sanding sticks instead.

I found the "FLEX-PAD" polishing pad did a great job on polishing up a clear plastic part that had a mold seam line down the middle of it. A dunk in Future and it was nice and shiney.

Bruce

Depends primarily on what sort of models you build. Aircraft and armor will probably not need anything finer than 2000 but polishing out paint on autos and motorcycles will require a polishing kit if you are going to do it right. The standard polishing kit usually starts at 3200 and goes up to 12,000. Of course, as another poster mentioned, those aren't sandpapers but polishing cloths.

you can get jeweler's powder up to the many thousands of fine. i've used it to make lens, but not on coins.

oops, i meant models. don't read a grading book while answering a post....

Finer grades of abrasive are made, and nowadays most abrasives are available bonded to plastic film rather than paper, which makes wet-sanding easier. I find that wet-sanding produces a smoother finish, whatever grade of abrasive you're scratching with.

As has already been mentioned, finer grades take you from sanding to polishing - but really all you're doing is removing smaller lumps from the surface. For canopy polishing you may need something as fine as

2000, but for everything else I've found that wet-sanding, finishing with the 600 grit extra-fine Flex-i-file to be good enough.

I only use "sandpaper" taped to a flat surface for truing up edges on vacform parts and other large flat areas. Otherwise I'm a fan of the Flex-i-file range, bands, sticks and film.

The films are colour-coded and consistent through the range:

150 Coarse Black 280 Medium Tan 320 Fine Grey 600 X-fine Red I've also got an ultra-fine set of sanding films of 1000, 1500, 6000 and 10000 grit grades.

There is a Triple-Grit polishing stick with three grades of material on it, from both Squadron and Flex-i-File. Nobody lists what grade of abrasive is on the three parts of the stick, though. The coarsest feels about 250, the medium about 500 and I'd have to guess the fine polishing side is in the 1000 region.

To be honest, it depends to some extent on the hardness of the material you're polishing and just how smooth you want to make it.

on 10/1/2009 8:59 PM (ET) Musicman59 wrote the following:

Try pieces of brown paper bag.

Personally, any finer than 2000 and I'd go with a polishing compound (a non-wax compound). I wonder- anyone know what the equivalent grit for jeweler's rouge is? And there is the old standby- toothpaste.

I've got a bunch of abrasive film used for polishing the ends of fiber optic connectors. I don't know the grit, but it polishes very well. I use it all the time.

there are more than one grit jewelers use, according to a woman i know who makes jewelery.

Toothpaste also works - particularly the "tartar control" stuff.

...but Scotchbrite is simpler. And less messy.

usually but some applications need even finer grit. that's why i like powders. some are so fine you need a particle mask. i guess you can get really painful stuff that cuts tissue.....scares the bejebus out of me. knew an old miner that had that silicon disease and it really wrecked him, cut him to shreds. well, according to him and he did look the part.

Yeah...I've heard about that. Working around composites ain't no picnic either...and don't even start me about breathing the air immediately after/near an aircraft crash...

Scotchbrite is my all-time fav plastic polishing material. I very rarely use sandpaper at all now. Anything more than about 500 grit can't hold a matchstick to what I can get with Scotchbrite.

And you can get it in different "grits" if you go to an auto body supplier...though I like the heavy purple stuff that I got as an industrial sample while I was working for GE. Scotchbrite and jeweler's rouge - or easier still; Scotchbite and a chunk of used Bounce fabric softening sheet - does wonders for clear parts.

Novus plastic polish also works for aircraft windshields, bike windshields, aquariums, and model airplane canopies. Was shocked to find out you can get it at some pet shops as well as bike and aircraft shops.