Encore: Polishing Sticks
ByHere is a encore article from my old newsletter. It’s appearance has been prompted by the questions I’ve been asked from modelers of all skill levels. If you know of someone just getting started or looking to improve their techniques, please share this with them.
Let’s talk a bit about Polishing Sticks…you know those ultra fine sanding sticks that are used to buff ladies fingernails…and yes, models too. I’ll tell you that without them I probably wouldn’t be able to build a model. Sure there are paper and film sheets (sandpaper) in comparable grits, but they don’t necessarily offer the same type of control or application.
Polishing sticks come in several shapes, sizes and from various sources, however they are not all the same. Some are not very compatible with water or cleansers. Once they get wet they disintegrate, becoming useless. I routinely wet polish with them using either plain water or a diluted detergent to lift and suspend the residue of the material I am polishing, whether it is plastic, fillers or paint.
I use them for everything, from the raw assemble stage all the way through to final weathering and touch ups.
For instance: dressing seams for smoothness, sanding of primers and paints, glossing/de-glossing paint and decals, to scuffing surfaces to bring out details as part of weathering. Let’s take a closer look. The polishing stick itself usually has (varies by type) three surfaces, although this varies by type. The smooth surface on the back works well for rubbing in polishing compounds on clear canopies.
Polishing seams is probably the most common use for these sticks; they provide a natural progression of removing sanding marks left behind by sanding sticks or sandpaper. As any skilled and accomplished craftsmen will tell you…it’s all in the prep work.
Polishing sticks can be used to wet sand a primer in preparation to receive a color coat.
Polishing sticks can be used to address and correct the ‘Orange Peel’ effect of applied paint and smoothing before applying any sequential paint layers.
Use them to prep painted surfaces for decal application, whether the surfaces is glossy or flat…yes I said flat! Even gloss paints could possibly have some little bump or speck that protrudes up away from the surface. A quick light swipe with a polishing stick can knock that decal destroying blemish down.
When applying decals to flat surfaces the ’standard’ course of action is to apply a gloss overcoat so the decal has a smooth surface to snuggle onto. Well…I’m not a standard issue modeler so I will sometimes use a polishing stick in lieu of a gloss coat. Why add another layer to the process when you don’t necessarily need to?
Using the polishing stick, you can knock down the peaks of the paint’s surface to form a smooth ‘glossy’ surface suitable for decal application. I find this technique very effective when using ‘premium’ decals. The decals seem to settle down into the paint (with a setting solvent) more convincingly to appear as if they were actually ‘painted on’ just as real markings were. This process eliminates the de-glossing of the gloss layer applied just for the purpose of decaling. It also sets the stage for better weathering effects…which is a topic for a future newsletter.
Now that the decals are down, snug, and cured…you may want to take some of their sheen away…again a gentle rub with a polishing stick can accomplish that task too. It’s also a good idea (IHO) to scuff the decal slightly to accept any overcoats or weathering you might apply. A polishing stick can also be used to ease/correct or erase weathering effects.
Weathering with polishing sticks…a concept hard to accept or convert to by some long time builders. Weathering models realistically is important, which is more evident in larger scales. Real machines weather from environmental forces. Sunlight fades paint, parts flex and repeated removal/installation causes scratching and chipping. Abrasion is caused by debris in the air, crew members feet…you get the idea.
So, in reality, certain weathering is a removal process. (Sure, liquid stains are additive, but that comes later in the process, separate from the topic at hand. Modelers add pen, pencil and paint to replicate these effects of weathering, but isn’t that going about it backwards? Instead of adding, shouldn’t you be removing? Try using a polishing stick!
I’m a bit biased on using NMF paints as a ‘primer’, but given that the object is made of metal wouldn’t it be prudent to start with that as a base? It doesn’t have to be involved or complicated, just the basic metal skin color…aluminum for example. Using that as the ‘base’ color, you then gently use a polishing stick to remove the outer layer of paint to expose the underlying metal skin, thus creating a scratch, scuff, chip or faded effect
more realistically by removing material not adding more.
As modelers get better with their build quality, they also get scrutinized closer…and when you shoot a picture of your work…every little thing missed by the naked eye lights up in neon through the cameras lens. Those light dabs of silver paint applied to show ‘boot scuffs’ on the wing, show up looking the way they were applied…added to the outer layer of paint. Again there are many methods of ‘removal’ to get this effect, but polishing sticks are probably one of the fastest and easiest to use.
Polishing sticks are an essential tool in my model building, without them I’d be lost. Over the course of time I have found other uses for them as well. I use them to occasionally clean and hone the needles of my airbrushes. That fine tip of a needle can sometimes get a bit out of point, so I’ll hone them with a polishing stick. The metal surface of an airbrush needle can also become pitted from harsh paints and solvents…the polishing stick can ease that surface back smooth.
I hope you have a new respect for polishing sticks…if you are not using them now, stop by your local store that carries fingernail care products or your local hobby shop…you’ll find them there.
Read the follow on comments posted by our readership, lots more good info included there too.
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I have a few of these, and I like the polishing side. But I can never find them in what I consider sufficiently fine grits, and rarely are they labeled. I consider anything coarser than 400 grit to be “stock removal,” and I hate not knowing what I am working with.
As you say, they are not all the same. Any brand suggestions?
Stevens International makes sanding sticks in 320, 400, 600, and 800 grit, and they are labeled as to size. They are also reasonably water resistant unless you soak them too long.
I, also, would be interested in brand names and sources. Buying anything in a big box store is a crap shoot, as the stuff is packed in plastic so you can’t feel the grit. On top of that, the store employees (if you can even find one) haven’t the foggiest idea. I’ve used some of the regular Stevens sanding sticks, but the local poor excuses for hobby shops don’t stock regularly. Thanks,
Horton
My stash of Polishing Sticks dates back to the mid ’90’s when a friend and I acquired several cases (thousands of sticks!) of them from a fellow vendor at AirVenture who didn’t want to haul all of them back home. They were giving them away as a promo item to visitors to their booth. This company specializes in the restoration of plexi glass canopies on aircraft as well as those on other applications. I used to sell these by the handful at a bargain price. Now I have hit the level of just having enough to hopefully last me a few more years. The company we sourced them from…Micro-Surface Finishing Products Inc. The grits of the sticks I have:
* Pink – 2400 (coarse) or Black – 2400 (coarse)
* White – 4000
* Gray – 12000 (fine)
My suggestion is if you’re sourcing these polishing sticks from the drug store in the nail care aisle, stick with the brand names such as Revlon, their products are made to a better spec. I investigated having some produced for me under my own label…the responses from the various companies that produce them were many as were the samples they provided. But out of the dozens I received, I was lucky to find one suitable and at a decent cost. One that would allow me to retail them at a price frugal modelers were willing to pay!
TIP: You can use the backside as a squeegee to remove water and air bubbles from under a decal.
Love the Tips!
This past week I just picked up a 4-way buffer from Meijers cosmetic dept made by StudioM for about $1.50. Of course, its made in China. It has a plastic & foam core so you can use it for wet sanding/polishing. The ends narrow down to about 1/4″ so you get into smaller spaces.
Dave