Product Description
The AMAZING Micro Mesh Flexi File is a flexible buffing stick file which takes you all the way through removing minor marks all the way up to a sparkling high mirror shine.
4 grits in one tool - this really is a must-have for all jewellery makers, speeding up your polishing drastically. We love it at Metal Clay HQ ♥!
This flexible buffing stick/file has 4 grinding and polishing grades in one tool. It is ideal for removing marks and polishing metal surfaces, as well as acrylic and resin surfaces. The perfect quick fix and mirror shine making tool for jewellery making. It is a bit like our Pro-Polishing pads, but with the added benefit of also including a more abrasive grit so you can remove marks before starting your polish.
It has four different grits - two per side - ranging from 180MX (320 grit) grade which removes marks speedily whilst still leaving a smooth surface, all the way up to the final 12,000 grade which is your final high-shine polishing. The grey 12,000 grade leaves silver absolutely sparkling!
Choose between 3 sizes:
- MINI - 10mm (3/8") wide x 100mm long (this is absolutely adorable and perfect to slip in a handbag - don't tell anyone but this file works really well on nails too...)
- REGULAR - 12mm (1/2") wide x 150mm long
- LARGE - 16mm (5/8") wide x 150mm long
Use the grits in the following order:
- Black: 180MX (roughest, equivalent to 320 grit - good for removing marks and scratches)
- Pink: 2,400 (refine the surface - pre-polish)
- White: 4,000 (finer - polish)
- Grey: 12,000 (finest - giving you the super-shine you are after)
Silicone carbide on foam backing.
As the name says, these are flexible, so are great for working on slightly shaped, curved, and rounded pieces. Flexifiles are very strong and cope well with edge-work as well as being flexible enough to bend to fit contours. The file itself is thin enough not to inhibit movement and is a really handy size for working on intricate mould tools and parts. The material itself is strong and will withstand working on sharp edges and hard metals.
Can be used with water on resin and polymer clays.
What is Micro Mesh?
Micro-Mesh™ is what we like to call a non-abrasive abrasive. It is considered a cushioned abrasive.
Conventional sandpaper is designed to be aggressive so that it will dig deeply. In its manufacture the crystals are electrically charged so that they will stand up. They are locked into a hard resin and when you apply the paper to a surface it will literally tear in and remove the substrate of the material you are sanding. The crystals cut in a negative raking motion, leaving inconsistent scratch patterns.
Micro-Mesh™ does the opposite. The backing is long lasting cloth to which an ultra-flexible cushioning layer is applied. This cushioning layer will determine how far forward you can push crystals before they will penetrate the cushioning layer. On top of this layer, we have a very resilient glue, not a hard resin, but a completely flexible glue that will hold the crystals while allowing it to move and rotate. The crystals can turn in any direction without coming loose. When you start to apply pressure to sand with Micro-Mesh™, the crystals will go into the cushioning layer while beginning to cut a bit. If you push harder, they will go further into the cushioning layer, which serves as a safety valve. It determines how much pressure you can exert in a downward direction. Instead of a deep scratch that sandpaper makes, Micro-Mesh™ produce a refined scratch that is close to a RMS of 1.0. The cushioning layer also allows the crystals to cut with a planing motion that leaves an extremely consistent scratch pattern and allows you to achieve extraordinary levels of gloss.
Where conventional abrasives will take surfaces down 2 or 3 thousandths (.002 or .003), Micro-Mesh™ will take it down one ten thousandth (.0001) or less.