Carbon Fiber Grinding Plate (5mm x 70mm - 3pcs, 10mm x 70mm - 3pcs)

A set of narrow U-STAR carbon sanding plates

There are plenty of places on a model you cannot reach with a wide sanding face: the gap between a wheel and a fender, the space between exhausts, the slot at the hinge of a canopy or the groove between the fins of a radiator. These narrow plates are made for exactly those. The package contains two widths, three pieces measuring 5x70 mm and three measuring 10x70 mm, so you can choose according to the width of the gap.

Why a rigid narrow plate

Abrasive paper folded into a strip goes wavy in a narrow gap and sands the area around it rather than the spot you are aiming at. A rigid plate holds a plane and its shape, so it takes material off exactly where you touch it and does not round off a neighboring edge. On narrow sections that is often the only way to clean a joint up without taking an already glued assembly apart.

How to make use of the set

• Choose the width to suit the gap; leave the narrowest plate for places nothing else will squeeze into.
• Run the strokes along the gap rather than across it, otherwise you will round off the edges on either side.
• Do not press; rather repeat. Pressure leads to wearing through thin plastic.
• Keep wiping the dust away, as it builds up quickly between the plate and the plastic.
• Mask the surrounding detail with tape while you sand right beside it.

Who the set is for

For builders of vehicles and cars, where there are many narrow gaps and wheel arches, for aircraft modelers when cleaning up between engine nacelles and leading edges, and generally for anyone finishing a model after gluing assemblies that can no longer be taken apart.

Check the grit of the abrasive and whether a sanding surface is included in the package on the box.