I use needle files a lot. I often use them when model already has primer and maybe even some color paint. The mixture of paint dust and styrene or resin dust really clogs these things up. Others have said to clean them with a fine wire brush. I do that, but after a few times it seems to dull the file a lot.
Is there some solvent I can use to clean these files? Seems to me the right solvent would clean them without dulling the files. I guess maybe I am just cheap. I should treat the files like fine drills and X-acto blades and just consider them expendable supplies
I clean all my files with a dedicated file card but for small files like yours I use gun cleaning brushes. The typical bronze type bore brush isn’t as harsh as s stiff cold steel or stainless brush. Something you may consider is soaking the file in a container of lacquer thinner to remove paint residue. This won’t touch the resin ofcourse but maybe with the paint gone it will be less work to brush out the resin bits with a small bore brush.
If you decide to try a bore brush I’d recomend a small caliber like a .22. Bigger brushes have longer bristles and they tend to bend a deform easily while the shorter bristles are stiffer and work better, last longer.
Gee, a brass brush sounds great. It would be neat if dremel made a brass version of their wire brush in addition to the steel one. As I get older and my hands more arthritic, I find I like power tools a lot more than I did in my younger days But, I guess a small brass manual brush wouldn’t be too bad.
I use MEK from Home Depot. I let em soak in a sealed container and then give them a quick brush with a stiff nylon bristol brush. I’ve done it for years and I haven’t dulled a file yet.
It’s a liquid solvent which will dissolve most things plastic, it’s usually sold in “industrial” 1L / 5L tins. You can find out more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butanone
I use lacquer thinner and/or a brass brush to clean files. Brass brushes can also be found in unusual places: I found a nice one in the shoe dept. that is used for cleaning suede shoes (including those Blue Suede Shoes belonging to Carl Perkins!) As long as the files are only used for plastics and paints, it usually works.
MEK is the solvent used in model cements. I found some at my local Ace Hardware store.
