Sandpaper Grit

[Malazan]

How should the grit progression go when sanding the first planking? Then the second planking?

[vaddoc]

Generally, 80 grit will remove a lot of wood fast but will leave grooves that will take some effort to remove- perhaps an overkill for delicate thin wood. 100 - 120 grit will remove material without leaving deep gouges on the wood surface. Progressive 150, 240 and 320 will leave the wood surface smooth. Going to 400 will leave a glass like surface, especially if the wood is sealed. So depends how uneven your surface is.

Very important what sandpaper to use. Most are aluminum oxide but I ve only been using 3M 618 silicon carbide sand paper - wonderful stuff.

Using a very sharp blade can also remove a lot of wood and leave a very smooth surface. This actually works very well.

 

Vaddoc

[vossiewulf]

Don't forget scrapers. Fully sharpened scrapers generate fine shavings, and are excellent for smoothing down planking because they remove material fast, they don't make sawdust that goes everywhere, and they leave a very smooth finish that can be finalized quickly with light sanding of 400 or 600 grit. The big one in the photo below is particularly good, I'd never used a heavy scraper like that but it's very good at cutting. Unfortunately StewMac (luthier supply) don't seem to make it anymore, but the light spring steel mini scrapers are still available.

 

 

[vaddoc]

I just use these very common carpet blades, through away when dull. They work very well. 100 pack for £12.

They leave a very smooth surface.

 

 

 

[No Idea]

First planking I use 120 grit which I think is rough enough for any model.  Don't go any smoother for than that for the first planking as it gives a great key for the second planking.  You are trying to get a shape and not a finish.

 

Second planking - well thats a personal choice as it depends on how you want your model to look.  Some modellers stop at 180 grit and others will go very fine to maybe 800 grit.  Its really up to the builder and the finish they want or are going to apply.

 

 

Edited December 13 by No Idea

[Dr PR]

I want to second what Vaddoc said about coarse grit sandpaper leaving deep groves that will take a LOT of sanding with fine grit sandpaper to eliminate the scratches!

 

And Vossewulf is right on about scrapers - although they don't have to be a fancy and specialized as his tools. Virtually any knife blade will work if you drag it along perpendicular to the surface. I use older "dull" blades for scraping. Curved blades are very useful for removing high spots in the planking and shaping concave contours in hulls.

 

I use #0000 steel wool for final finishing when I need a glossy surface. But be sure to remove all tiny fragments before sealing and painting the surface. Tiny bits of steel wool embedded in the wood can rust over time and stain the wood. I have never had this happen, but I do clean the surfaces carefully.

[Keith Black]

You can start with #1 grit and move up.