Emery Files 180 5 IN 1

A coarser grit for the first stage

One hundred and eighty is the grit a modeler reaches for right after breaking a part off the sprue. It works fast, so the remnant of a sprue gate, flash or a mold seam disappears in a few strokes without any need to press. That pace is the main difference from the finer version: a coarser grit is there to take material off, not to smooth it.

The make-up of the tools follows the established standard. A flat blade for surfaces, a round section for holes, a half-round for concave shapes, a triangular one for narrow corners and a square one for right-angled recesses. Each shape is in the package once, five pieces in all. On resin accessories, where the casting blocks tend to be substantial, a coarser set saves a lot of time.

What to watch out for

Fast cutting has its downside as well: the scratches left by the grit stay visible in the surface and a base coat will not hide them. The expectation is therefore that finer sanding follows the coarse stage, whether with a file of a higher number or with a sanding sponge. Anyone who skips this step will see the marks only under the varnish, when it is too late.

It is a good idea to keep the tools dry and to put them down so that the abrasive faces do not press against each other. The dust that clogs them is best removed after every longer session, otherwise the set quickly loses its bite. When working with resin, a respirator is recommended as well, because resin sanding dust is harmful to health and stays in the air longer than dust from ordinary polystyrene. A short break to tap the tools clean thus pays off twice over, once for the performance of the tools and once for your lungs.