Files.

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retneprac

Well-Known Member
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Location
Bedfordshire
No not the paper storage or data types. Metal ones.
I’ve been doing a bit work lately with Aluminium, was wondering how pro’s in the metal industry keep them clean. Wire brushing keeps the courser ones clean but what about the fine ones and needle files?
Any tips appreciated.
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Have you tried an actual file brush?
Amazon product

They work a bit better than normal wire brushes I've found. If they're choked up with soft material like non ferrous metal or wood, just filing something harder for a bit tends to push the debris out from between the teeth.
 
I’ve been doing a bit work lately with Aluminium, was wondering how pro’s in the metal industry keep them clean. Wire brushing keeps the courser ones clean but what about the fine ones and needle files?
I use a file brush, or the end of wooden backing of the file brush as a scraper.

I have a couple of these.
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One tip I have read in the modelling world is one file one material.

So you have a set for each common metal you use, and another set for odds and sods.
 
We had an Ali job at work once. We had to grind down a lot of welds (not me, the guys in the works). This was using flap discs, but Ali also clogs abrasives). They were given a kind of soap by the abrasive company. I am not saying ordinary soap, but worth research.
 
Deffo use chalk before use.

Wondering if a latex block would pull it out of a fine file. Ill have a go next time ive got the needle files out. Normally used for sanding belts and the like. They dont half clean out abrasive paper.

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Why is it advisable not to use the same file on different materials?

Often anything like that is to stop cross contamination as you can transfer one material to another. So the nice stainless job you have just ground/filed to s nice finish has tiny bits of mild steel put into it ready to rust.

In a similar fashion, you never used a mild steel we wire brush on stainless.
 
It's not a real cup of coffee unless it's seasoned with a bit of angle grinder grit with croutons made from chainsaw chippings. And maybe a rainbow film of EP90 on the top for garnish.

And the washer you couldn't find was languishing at the bottom ... :D
 
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