Alpha Precision Abrasives is a manufacturer of industrial abrasives. It also has selection of abrasive tools for the hobbyist. Master Detail is packaging a selection of Alpha Precision Abrasives products into an introductory package. The package includes

• 1/8-inch Sanding Files (100/180; 120/240 and 240/320 grit)
• 3 Plastic Sanding Needles (150, 240 and 320 grit)
• Micro Finish Cloth Abrasive Sheet (3200, 3600, 4000, 6000, 8000 and 12,000)
• Abrasive Cleaning Disk

The sanding files are really nice. They bend enough as to follow curved parts without damaging or deforming them, while still have enough ‘hardness’ as to get the sanding job done. You can clean them and re-use them several times (see below). They are color coded in each side for a different grid, however the 100/180 are both white, making difficult to know which grit is the one being used.

The plastic sanding needles are very practical, particularly when sanding either a hole or an oval shape (like the interior of the air intake in an A-7D Corsair II). The needles seem to be made of a piece of plastic (a sprue?) with the abrasive attached to it. I was surprised to see some of the abrasive gone after sanding. I don’t know if I was being too harsh with them or if the needles are intended to be somewhat disposable.

The Micro Finish cloth kit is ideal to prepare the surface for a natural metal finish in an airplane or ultra shiny finish in a car. Beware that you get just a small patch of about 1x3 inches of each one of cloth grit in this package (it is just a sample size).

The abrasive cleaning disk is probably the nicest and most useful tool of the whole introductory package. It is a disk of about 2 inches in diameter made of a slightly ‘sticky’ and soft material. You just have to rub your sanding sticks against the disk and all the plastic dust transferred to the disk, leaving the stick clean and ready for another sanding session. I have yet not figured out how to remove the sanding dust from the disk cleaner, tough.

Recommended to hobbyist of all skill levels.

I would like to thank Master Details and IPMS/USA for the samples.