I have purchase several marker lights from both wiseman and precision scale. Both of these castings seem to not be clean with several edges being seen on the castings. These edges are on surfaces that cannot be easily sanded with out distorting other features. How do others remove these?
When I look on other items I own such as MTH premier steam engines or 3rd rail, I see no such marks on brass castings.
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Possibly some type of wheel tumbling using a medium like walnut shells or something similar. I am only familiar with this process for much harder parts ie: Titanium
If it’s flashing. An X Acto with a #11 blade and careful scraping may work. Small needle files or flexible sanding sticks. My biggest problem is holding the small piece while I work. If there is a mounting boss on the casting. A pin vice may hold it while you work.
@Hump Yard Mike posted:I have purchase several marker lights from both wiseman and precision scale. Both of these castings seem to not be clean with several edges being seen on the castings. These edges are on surfaces that cannot be easily sanded with out distorting other features. How do others remove these?
Extremely small files of varying shapes, in order to get into all the areas/corners.
When I look on other items I own such as MTH premier steam engines or 3rd rail, I see no such marks on brass castings.
Probably because they are using much better investment casting processes in China & Korea.
@Hot Water posted:Probably because they are using much better investment casting processes in China & Korea.
PSC molds have a lot more years and use than anything from MTH or 3rd rail
why do you assume that the castings for 3rd rail and MTH didn't get sanded and whatnot before soldering and paint?
Santiago,
You may be correct, maybe the casting were sanded by MTH and 3rd rail. I guess that is what I asking, how to get the castings cleaned up. I am not sure how to effectively do this. I have the small jewelers files and I seem to cause more damage to other features when addressing this, especially with the how small the marker lights are. In general, locating/purchasing these items and making these modifications to engines and rolling stock is a new aspect of the hobby for me that I am exploring and trying to learn from others.
I use jewelers files. You can finish them up with rubberized abrasives if needed. Cratex makes an assortment meant to work with a Dremel.
Pete
Mike, Harbor Freight keeps pretty descent sets of tiny jewelers files on the shelf, ...like 4-5 bucks per set...there’s just about every shape available in the set....you’re not the first one to have to clean up some PSC parts, they all come as cast, just removed from the spru...heck, sometimes the parts still have bits of plaster stuck to them...truth be told, I know what marks you’re speaking of, I’ve seen them on PSC parts, and polished them out with water and a 800 grit sanding stick...but usually a quick one way zip with a file cleans these parts up...
Pat
I have boiught and used a lot of castings over the years, and they all needed to be cleaned up before use. Basically needle files as mentioned (jewelers files). Generally these are flash from the seams in the molds. Lost wax should not have seams I think, but will still have the place where the sprue was cut.
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