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Hi all, do you ever sand down parts of your minis to get a smooth finish where there is a join or where the part was connected to a sprue. Rather than always using a knife which can take a bit too much off if you apply too much pressure.

If so what type of sand paper do you use?

Depends on the material, the area the access and the tools you've got really. Some gaps the blade gets into easier, sometimes material itself is easier to scrape clean than file etc...



One thing I would say is get yourself at least one 900 grit needle file. I've only found one source for them

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

They are amazing because they are fine grit enough to polish not scratch for the soft materials that models are made of.

A lot of diamond files tend to be sold without the grit mentioned and tend to be on the coarse side (low grit number). Which makes them more likely to scratch than polish soft model materials.



Files, sand paper - whatever you want to use you want nice high grit numbers. 400-600-900 etc...



For getting into really tight gaps you can also look at Glass Fibre Pencil - 2mm or thereabouts. They are a tool I've not yet used but have had my eye on getting and experimenting with

mrFickle wrote:
Hi all, do you ever sand down parts of your minis to get a smooth finish where there is a join or where the part was connected to a sprue. Rather than always using a knife which can take a bit too much off if you apply too much pressure.

If so what type of sand paper do you use?

Seen folk use gapfiller and then sanding with water for smooth finish. Mostly on airplane and tank models.
Also, sanding a bit after primer, because it reveals more imperfections.

I never sanded minis my self but seen these used.
Try these if you got hobbylobby near by.
https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Model-Kits/Paint-Brushes/Sanding-Needles---Coarse/p/922
https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Model-Kits/Paint-Brushes/Sanding-Needles---Medium/p/923
https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Model-Kits/Paint-Brushes/Sanding-Needles---Fine/p/924

I use little nailboard sanding sticks. Double sided, coarser and not so coarse. Cheap, can be trimmed down to make them easier to reach the difficult spots.
Works on metal, resin or plastic.

I don't really sand miniatures, I do most of the clean up with a knife. Trim the big bits with the sharp side, then clean up by using the blunt side as a scraping tool. I specifically use a "medium" blade handle with the larger/thicker blades because they make for better scrapers than the small handles with the smaller blades.

Not many models have seams on big open surfaces where it's necessary to get a super good finish afforded by sanding.

For historic scale aircraft models I use a filler then sand the seams, where I use a mixture of Tamiya sanding sponges and flexible sanding sticks (don't even remember the brand, just what the local hobby store sells, they come in a pack of various grits and occasionally I cut them to size). Scale aircraft models usually come with a 2 piece fuselage with an unsightly seam right down the middle, so if you don't put some effort into cleaning it up it'll stand out.

I use four tools for cutting and cleaning:

1. Tamiya nippers (for cutting pieces off sprue)
2. Modelling knife blades (I prefer using blades without the handle, but you do you!)
3. GW Mold Line removal tool
4. AK interactive glass fibre pen

Usually I work from 1 towards 4, but often 2 & 3 are enough to get things trimmed and clean.

YMMV

 tauist wrote:
I use four tools for cutting and cleaning:

1. Tamiya nippers (for cutting pieces off sprue)
2. Modelling knife blades (I prefer using blades without the handle, but you do you!)
3. GW Mold Line removal tool
4. AK interactive glass fibre pen

Usually I work from 1 towards 4, but often 2 & 3 are enough to get things trimmed and clean.

YMMV

What do you do with a fibreglass pen?

mrFickle wrote:

 tauist wrote:
I use four tools for cutting and cleaning:

1. Tamiya nippers (for cutting pieces off sprue)
2. Modelling knife blades (I prefer using blades without the handle, but you do you!)
3. GW Mold Line removal tool
4. AK interactive glass fibre pen

Usually I work from 1 towards 4, but often 2 & 3 are enough to get things trimmed and clean.

YMMV

What do you do with a fibreglass pen?

I use it for final sanding/smoothing if required. It transforms plastic into smoke, so it kinda requires using a mask. It's as fine as you want it to be, you can adjust the strenght of the pen by adjusting the lenght of the fibres sticking out from the handle.

 chromedog wrote:
I use little nailboard sanding sticks. Double sided, coarser and not so coarse. Cheap, can be trimmed down to make them easier to reach the difficult spots.
Works on metal, resin or plastic.

chromedog has made a great point, sometimes access is a real challenge and this prevents you sanding another part by accident.

My two cents,

CB

For my hobby knife I usually use scalpel blades (that I buy from the local veterinarian because I live in a rural area) and its easier to get them than hobby knife blades, since new blades, when they come out of their sealed little slip are surgically sharp I do not really have issues with applying too much pressure etc, this level of sharpness also means that you can remove cast lines pretty seamlessly and effortlessly on really any material you might be working on.