Have you ever sat down to paint one of your model tanks just to have a lump of paint fall in just the wrong spot? This can happen when painting by hand or even when airbrushing. If all the paint is not cleaned from your equipment and the new paint properly mixed it can come back to bite you. Now that it has happened, what can you do? Do you just paint over it? The best answer to that question is to wet sand the part.
If you were to sand your model with dry paint you can run the chance of ruining your model tank. By wet sanding you can better control the removal process by slowing down the amount of heat created by the friction. This will help you prevent the need for a major fix. By dry sanding alone you could possibly even have to replace the model itself due to damage.
Before you can begin the wet sanding process you must first prepare the model. Using a damp cloth, wet the model in the area to be sanded. If you wish you can use a bit of soap but it is not a necessary step. One thing you will not want to do is to submerge your tank. You could have to wait several days to dry out if you do.
You will next need a sanding block for your paper. This is a tool that will help you to hold the paper against the area to be sanded. It can be most anything that you can wrap the sanding paper around that will keep its shape when you add a bit of pressure. For wet sanding purposes a small piece of semi-firm sponge would be ideal. It can help hold just enough water to keep the paper moist.
The sandpaper you will need to use should be between 400 and 1000 grit wet sand paper. It should also be a mesh or cloth backed paper so that it doesn't fall apart during the sanding process. Once you are ready to begin sanding you should use a small spray bottle to mist water onto the model from time to time.
Start by rubbing slowly in a circle on the part you are removing the paint from. You should work toward accuracy rather than worrying about speed. Keep adding a bit of water as you sand to help keep debris from accumulating. Soon you will find your model tank spot free and ready to begin again.
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