Hello, can anyone tell me what grit sand paper to use to get the corkroadbed level< or do I start course and work my way to a fine grit, or use a surform. This is for N scale cork for a coffee table layout that I am building. Thanks Mike
I model HO and I use a Black and Decker electric hand sander with a pretty fine grit. It takes longer but you have less chance of sanding too much. Hope this helps.
I definitely would NOT use a Sureform. It will tear the cork to pieces. I assume you are concerned with the jagged edge after you seperate the two halves? If it’s really jagged…I’ve used a sharp Xacto knife. If it’s not that bad, 220 grit sandpaper with a block. It might take longer but it will look nicer.
I have a couple of areas that are uneven, so I want to make sure they were even before I put the track down so the track will be level with no bumps. I do not want any late 70s real life roller coaster track.ALso, one piece sems to be about 1/32" taller on one side of one of the pieces that I put down/ I didn’t realize it until everything was set up. Thanks for the info.
On HO cork roadbed I use a surform type block plane about 6" long. Works great for me.
Good luck
Paul
I use either a Surform or my B&D ‘Mouse’ detail sander with 80 grit sandpaper. Make sure your cork is glued down solid and the glue is dry!
Jim
while i work in HO, the principals are the same for all scales. use a flexible straight edge to check your progress and prevent dips in your cork and use a small level to check it across so you don’t get too much superelevation effect from uneven pressure while using the stanley tool.
grizlump
I used 150 girt on a 6 inch block, worked well for be.
I use a 150 grit belt in a cheap-o belt sander.
80 or 100 grit by hand with my thumb. Your just basically knocking the jagged shoulder off.
Your going to cover it with paint and ballast anyhow.
me again. one thing i forgot to mention. if you have the midwest cork roadbed, it is much tougher than the cheaper mrpo stuff, and takes longer to sand or grind down.
grizlump
As the OP noted after making his original post, he has uneven thickness with some of the roadbed, so it’s more than just dealing with the jagged edge. For that, I usually just carve it off with a utility knife, but sanding is effective too.