Leštící brusné hadříky 1500

Polishing abrasive cloth 1500

A textile backing instead of paper changes the way you get at a part. The cloth can be folded, wrapped around a stick, stretched over a rounded former or simply caught between two fingers and drawn along a shape. It does not break at the fold and does not fall apart even when you work with it in water.

Of the nine steps this range offers, the value 1500 is the coarsest. It therefore picks up where ordinary abrasive paper around a thousand leaves off and prepares the surface for the finer steps. It still removes a noticeable amount of material, so it suits leveling a mold seam, the remains of a sprue gate or the edge of a filled gap.

Where the cloth can reach

The advantage of textile shows in places where a rigid plate has no chance: the inside of a circular air intake, the channel between a fender and a footboard, the hollow around an exhaust, the underside of a wing at the leading edge. You push a strip of fabric through and draw it back and forth like a saw.

You can work dry or with water. Water washes the sanded-off material away and extends the life of the abrasive surface, so reach for it whenever a large surface is involved. After use, rinse the cloth out and let it dry unfolded; a piece put away folded and damp will stick together, and when it is next unfolded part of the abrasive will come away with it.

This is a consumable that gradually loses its effect. As soon as it stops offering resistance under your fingers and the surface is merely being polished, it is time to reach for a new piece.

Before the first use, try a piece on an offcut of sprue. That will tell you how fast this grade removes material and how much pressure you can allow yourself without rounding off an edge you want to keep sharp.