Any hints, tricks, or tips to cleaning up the nooks and crannies on the castings

[Doc]

As the title says, I am looking for any help on cleaning up and removing the previous grit marks on the acute angles of the castings.  Any tricks or tips you may have would be greatly appreciated.  I have been using dry sandpaper from Ace hardware but am thinking cloth backed would be better.  Still a very neophyte builder, but looking for anything you might have to offer.
Thanks
Doc

[Jerry V Lape]

What specifically are you working on?  I usually begin with a scraper if it is brass and with files if steel.  I don't think it makes much difference whether you are using cloth or paper backed sandpaper, or even 3M abrasive film.  Seldom use either without having it backed by wood or metal so I keep crisp edges.  Also use files on brass but not those which have been worked on steel or iron.  I don't care for highly polished brass beyond about 320 grit.  If using sandpaper don't try to skip over the grits as you work from coarse to fine.  Use the entire progression of grits in between.  It is hard for 320 to erase 180 marks for example. 

[Doc]

Primarily iron trigger guards and such.  Sounds like tongue depressors and contact adhesive would be good to add to the mix.

Doc

[Bob Roller]

Primarily iron trigger guards and such.  Sounds like tongue depressors and contact adhesive would be good to add to the mix.

Doc

Doc,
I have used large fingernail boards and make up small ones from the sticks in ice
cream bars. I have a number of these and its fun eating the ice cream to get them.

Bob Roller

[rich pierce]

Files will get you most of the way there. Then 320 and possibly 400 paper backed as indicated above.

[Joe S.]

Go advise from all,will add if all you can get is paper backed sandpaper you can just back it with duct tape,poormans emery paper

[Frank]

Lots of elbow grease. 

[PPatch]

Primarily iron trigger guards and such.  Sounds like tongue depressors and contact adhesive would be good to add to the mix.

Doc

With the steel castings I generally begin cleanup with 6" Grobet half-round Bastard cut files in grades #'s 2,3 and 4. You won't find anything near their quality made in the US these days. Beginning with the #2 I first file lightly in order to reveal those pits and casting errors hiding under the gray surface. Let the file do the work and clean the file often. You do not want to add to your work by scoring the surface with those bits of metal that are caught under the file.

With just those three files you can achieve a very nice surface, and you can then use those same files wrapped in sandpaper to continue refining your surface. I too use paper wrapped around popsicle sticks, or anything handy, to work the surfaces. The traditional paper for metal is crocus or emery paper btw, I use the Fine grade to begin the polish on metal parts, from there I go to regular papers starting with 220 grit.

This is the file type: http://www.grobetusa.com/6-half-round-bastard-cut-file-item-32-310/

dave
 

[oldtravler61]

  Doc I only use files first. Rough at first then medium to fine. Then a Scotch brute green pad.
 They are not super shinning smooth. But I like the finish it does.
  You will have figure out what you prefer in the long run. Oldtravler

[davec2]

As others have noted, files to prep steel and iron, files and scrapers to prep brass.  Then I use these.  Easy to replace belts quickly.  On steel or brass, I use a light honing oil with the sanding sticks.  The belts last much longer.  Just move the belt a bit as each area of the belt wears.  These are 1/4 inch wide and get into almost all places.  They are also made larger for wood work, etc.   Available from several places like this:

https://smile.amazon.com/Lumberton-12302-Sanding-Sticks-Finishing/dp/B0039ZCQAK/ref=pd_sbs_21_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9BRXRRXCD2GSN1RXPJ45

Rio Grande and Gesswein also sell them and belts in every grit.

[WadePatton]

I like filing clean metal.

I file everything, cleaning up  as well as shaping to suit me. Then hard-backed (file or wood)paper until the grit goes to 220 and then the shapes will only change very slowly from soft-backed sanding. I've gotten fairly decent service from all the 40 or 50 various cheapo needle files I've picked up over the years. Also, now and then I get a gooder one. And furthermore I've always a stash of saw chain sharping files as well as some small three-squares for hand saw sharpening.

The neat trick I just learned from bumping into the world of engraving is blue putty.  It's the stuff (not always blue) sold such that kids can hang posters on concrete block dorm room walls without using tape. What it's good for is "sucking" the filings from you file face or from your work of from any surface. Some engravers use it to pull chips from magnetized gravers (a revolting development it was the first time).

On a lark I started mashing my files into it for cleaning between X amount of strokes-depending on the file, as I was doing the recent cock fitment (from a casting of the other part-that was way different and demanded a LOT of filing) job on those pistols and found that it works great. I find it more effective than tapping the file in the smaller sizes. 

Adapt, improvise, and glue wet/dry to wood.

[SingleMalt]

I've got a small set of Nicholson files I bought before they sent production out of the US.  They aren't fine cut, or anything like that.  But by varying the pressure, heavy at first, then lighter as it reaches shape, I can go from files to 220 grit easily.  I concur with Wade Patton, don't overlook cheap needle files.  The last set I picked up was less than $5.