Sanding Cloth #3000

Tamiya Sanding Cloth 3000 - a fine abrasive cloth

This is not abrasive paper on a hard backing but an abrasive cloth, with the abrasive laid on a springy textile fabric. That lets the sheet bend readily, follow rounded surfaces and avoid the sharp creases that would scratch deeper grooves into the surface. The grit of 3000 is among the very fine ones, so this sheet is not intended for removing material but for the final refining and preparation of a surface before polishing or painting.

How to read grit numbers

With abrasives a simple rule applies: the lower the number, the coarser the grain, and conversely a higher number means a finer abrasive. Coarser grits (in the hundreds) serve to remove mold seams and sprue remains and to shape; fine grits in the thousands then merely level the marks left by the previous step. That is why you sand in stages, from coarser to finer and never the other way round. A grit of 3000 is typically one of the last steps of the whole sequence.

Use

• Final smoothing of plastic before spraying: the surface looks smooth and even afterwards.
• Refining paintwork and removing small irregularities or grains of dust in dried paint.
• Preparing a surface before polishing to a high gloss (typically car bodies).
• Dry and wet sanding: sanding with water clogs the abrasive less and leaves a cleaner surface.
• The flexible sheet copes with rounded shapes as well, where a rigid sanding pad would round the edges off.

Who it is for

For modelers who care about surface quality: builders of car models and of aircraft with smooth surfaces, and for working with putty and varnishes. It also suits the finishing of 3D printed parts, where the surface needs gentle leveling without losing detail.

Advice on working: sand lightly and without pressure, rinse the surface and the sheet as you go so that the abrasive does not clog, and remove the dust from the surface carefully after sanding, otherwise the dirt will print into the paint.