Mandalorian Helmet detail work

[insane245]

Hi, I'm new to the forums but I've been working on a 3D printed Mandalorian helmet. I saw Numitor 's post about his helmet and was curious what techniques you all use for detail work. I'm stuck on the ear pieces and rear teeth. Is there any specific tool you use to get in the nooks and crannies? Files keep scratching it and sandpaper isn't precise enough. Numitor's image for reference:

 

[Numitor]

Have you tried these sanding pads? You can cut them up into small strips, very useful!

 

[swgeek]

Also emery boards are great for little detail areas, that's what I use. You can get them in a wide variety of grits and cut them up so you can get them into small areas.

 

[bigkidbiggertoys]

I like to use small needle files for my prints. I ground off the end of one of them so it is a flat chisel and is useful for scraping in some areas like the horseshoe in the above pic.

 

[signeddiamond]

For jobs like this you really need to start making your own tools. Really nothing on the market is going to do the job as well (and at a reasonable price) as something like a toothpick with some sandpaper glued around it. I have also had some success taking bits of steel wire and roughing it up with sandpaper. You can bend the wire into the shape you need and then the abrasion left from the sandpaper can dig at the material.


Signeddiamond

 

[zachfejes]

Jumping on the 'build custom tools for the job' suggestion, if you're into 3d printing, you can create sanding blocks that perfectly fit a given shape. I did this when filling and sanding the inner shape of my Mando Blaster.

For the U-shape in the ear piece, I'd open up the .STL, seperate the U-shape mesh, and isolated/extrude a section of it to get a small arc with the right radius. Print that out with a snap-like handle, and glue and sandpaper to it, and you're golden!

 

[Numitor]

Look at my last post... working on something . new vent and ears