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These days for metal I use a combination of:

1) Scalpel blade, scraped as normal along the mould line.

2) 1 600 grit diamond file, 1 half round 900grit diamond file, 1 barrette 900 grit diamond file.

Diamond files are just like sandpaper in that different grits denote the fineness of the abrasive surface, the bigger the number the smoother the finish. A lot of common diamond files don't state the grit and are honestly very rough (low grit values) which on soft hobby metals can leave scratches and be too aggressive for mould lines and such.
I've only found one place that sells higher values (and states what they are).

https://www.eternaltools.com/small-diamond-files

Then get yourself a firm normal pencil rubber (the big block kind). Because soft materials we work with in models will block up the file fairly quickly (esp the high grits). To clean you just rub the file over the rubber and it will clean it out. With metal its really easy because the rubber will go black when cleaning out the metal before going clear once you've cleaned the last out.



The fine grit files are a fantastic thing as they are firm and small enough to get into tight spots and easier than fiddling with endless replacements of wooden sticks and fine grit sandpapers.

Slipstream wrote:

Then get yourself a firm normal pencil rubber (the big block kind). Because soft materials we work with in models will block up the file fairly quickly (esp the high grits). To clean you just rub the file over the rubber and it will clean it out. With metal its really easy because the rubber will go black when cleaning out the metal before going clear once you've cleaned the last out.

I never knew about this, will it work with standard needle files?

The method I described works for any diamond files. The coarser the file the quicker it will eat into the rubber (so you might need a pack of them over time); but it only works for diamond files.

For regular toothed files which have a strip of striations then the best method is a brass wire brush (loads of cheap ones on ebay/hardware stores). You simple brush with the grain of the teeth so that you're running brush down the grooves and it will clean out the material.
You can't do that with a diamond file because there is no striations or order to the diamond, its simply coated on at random. Of course the bonus for diamond files is that they will cut in any direction, whilst a regular toothed file will only cut in one direction of motion.