SANDPAPER GRAIN 240 (DRY)

240 grit for dry sanding

240 grit is the coarsest step still worth using on a plastic model. It cuts fast and is meant for the first stage of the work, where what matters is the volume of material and not smoothness: remains of sprue gates, flash from the mold, parting lines on fuselages and raised blocks, and above all the transition between hardened putty and the surrounding surface of the part. Where a finer paper would only slide and clog, 240 grit takes an unevenness down in a few strokes.

The format matches work on small parts:

• A strip 11x1 cm, that is a width that fits even between ribs and into recesses.
• Prepared for dry sanding, so it also suits putties that water softens.
• The narrow shape can be folded or stuck to a plastic plate to give a rigid pad.
• It belongs to a graded range that continues with finer steps up to high values.

Never to stop at 240 grit

The scratches this grade leaves show under a clear coat, and a glossy finish highlights them further. Sanding therefore continues through a medium step to a fine one, and only then is the surface degreased and painted. Particular care is needed around engraved lines: a few strokes too many will erase them, and restoring them with a scriber takes more time than the whole original sanding job. A proven trick is to run a hard pencil or a thin coat of paint over the sanded place and look at the part against the light again. Scratches the eye does not notice on bare plastic show up at once under a film of color.