Sada jemných brusných papírů

Eight grits in one package

The grit starts at 320, moves through 400, 600 and 1000 to 2000 and 4000 and ends with the steps 6000 and 8000. The package thus covers the whole chain from coarse leveling to polishing. It is exactly this progression that matters: each further step removes the scratches from the previous one, and as soon as one of them is skipped, visible scratches stay under the coat of paint and appear only once a gloss color has been sprayed.

The most common task is making good the seams between the halves of a fuselage. The applied filler is leveled flat with a coarser step, the middle grits remove its marks and the fine steps prepare the surface so that the paint carries across with no visible transition. The same procedure deals with burrs left by sprue gates and with parting lines on figures.

Clear parts and polishing

The finest steps have a special value on canopies and windows. A scratched or clouded clear part can be brought back to a transparent state by sanding and polishing through the steps, work that coarse paper will never manage. Wet sanding is recommended, as water carries the removed material away and the paper clogs less.

The papers are flexible, so they follow curved surfaces, and they can be cut into strips for work in tight places. For straight edges it pays to back a piece with a hard pad so that the surface does not ripple.

The difference between neighboring steps is deliberately small so that the transition leaves no mark. Work in short strokes in one direction and wipe the surface between steps, otherwise you will carry a coarser grain onto a finer sheet and make the scratches all over again.