Instructions say to sand both sides of the sheet before using a knife to remove the fins.
I don't see any reason to sand while the fins are still on the sheet. Back when fins were die-cut, this sanding helped the fins release from the sheet.
You'll be sanding the face of the fins after the two halves are glued together anyway.
The lower fins come off two separate sheets of balsa. Sometimes there can be a slight difference between the thicknesses of the two kit balsa sheets.
Before you lose track of which fin came off which sheet -
You can check a matched thickness by dry fitting the two sides and feeling the joint with a fingertip.
After matching up the thicknesses,
Glue the two halves together and set a weight on top to keep things even.
After the glue dries, you can sand the flat faces.
Start with light passes of 220 grit, smooth with 400 grit.
I do remember on some old kits (from various manufacturers) where you really did want to sand the sheet before separating the parts because the sheet was a tad rough.
ReplyDeleteIf the parts are small, then it would make sense to sand the sheet before you separate the parts.