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Fiberglass Pencil


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Has anyone had any experience using a fiberglass pencil to eliminate ejector pin marks in tight corners? Or in removing mold lines on landing gear struts, both plastic and metal? I do understand the fiber shards can cause some discomfort/pain if they encounter exposed skin, and therefore gloves and safety glasses should be worn.

 

Any other uses in plastic modeling?

 

 

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I googled this. It appears to be something akin to a pointed sanding stick in a propelling pen such as a technical pencil. And, yes, they warn that contact with the "filings" is irritating to skin and eyes! I think I will pass on this one. Nick Filippone

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If that's the case, then it seems that other tools, some of which are made to deal with such problems (the chisel in the Micro Mark catalog comes to mind), would be safer and do the job just as well.

 

GIL

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The fiberglass pencil is a tool designed to clean the surface of metal for soldering operations. Yes, it is abrasive and yes if you get a shard of glass in your finger it hurts a lot and is hard to get out. I cannot say I recommend using it for anything other than it's intended purpose in soldering.

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Michael - I recommend using a 3M Spot Sanding Pen. They are available at Automotive Parts Stores such as Pep Boys etc. These are made for very fine sanding of small area's when doing Auto Painting. I found these when I was trying to figure out how to remove Tampo Printed markings from a pre-painted model called Black Force without damaging the underlining Very nice Black Paint. I was able to trim the fibers to correct size to sand away the stripe on the body. After removing the strip I simple polished out the paint and waxed the entire model, it worked fairly well. I have used it in other ways since and keep it at my workbench now all the time. I have never tried it on ejector pin marks or mold lines, but it sounds like a good idea! You need to wear gloves when trimming the "Glass Strands" [ and do it out side], but I do not think it is needed when you actually use it on a model, but that is just how I do it. I have attached a scan of the 3M pin.

post-136-0-32641400-1452016267_thumb.jpg

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I forgot to mention that I have used this to remove very difficult to remove decals, even decals buried in Clear Coat. When every other method fails it is worth giving this a shot before total paint removal. Fair WARNING - It does not always work, but nothing ventured nothing gained!

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Thank you all for your responses.

 

I have seen the fiberglass pencil mentioned in several foreign modeling publications, and only one issued a cautionary note regarding the issue of fibers. I was mostly curious about its possible use, but will look into the 3M pen.

 

One can never have too many tools.

 

Thanks again.

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I have one of these pens and found that you need to wear rubber gloves when using these fiberglass pens. The individual bristles of the pen can break off and stick in your skin. Think of a really small splinter that takes days to work itself free. You should also wipe down your workbench area after using just to make sure you've picked up all the microscopic pieces.

 

Yeah, it's a lot of bother. Still, for removing small glue blobs or other precision sanding, it's worth the effort.

 

HTH

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