SANDPAPER GRAIN 1000 (WET)

Where 1000 grit sits in the process

A thousand is the dividing line between shaping and polishing. Coarser papers take the surplus material off and level the joint of the fuselage halves or the remains of a sprue gate, but they leave behind a set of scratches that a primer will repeat faithfully. That is exactly where this sheet comes in: it is not meant to remove material, it is meant to smooth the marks of the previous step, so that the area under the paint looks like molded plastic and not like a sanded patch.

Working with water

The paper is meant for wet sanding. A wetted sheet washes the sanding slurry away, so the grain does not clog and the edge of a joint does not start to tear. A drop of detergent in the water helps it wet the surface better. Plastic and resin are worked this way more calmly, the risk of overheating drops and, above all, so does the dust, which with resin castings has no business in your airways.

Practical advice

Back the sheet with a piece of hard rubber or a wooden strip if you are leveling a flat area; fingers alone will reliably create a dip in a panel. On rounded shapes, by contrast, work freehand and turn the direction of the stroke every few movements, so that no one-way texture forms. When you are done, rinse the part and let it dry, otherwise the remains of the slurry cling in the engraved lines and show up as light threads once it is sprayed. Engraved lines weakened by sanding are easily restored with a needle run along a bent strip of metal.

When to change the paper

Its life can be told by feel. As long as the grain offers resistance and can be heard on the stroke, it is working. As soon as it starts to slide across the surface and only a slippery film is left under your fingers, it has stopped sanding and is only polishing, which at this grit makes no sense.