SPA Modeler

Yeah, a dremel with a round stone would take care of that quick.

Ditto on the Dremel. I've got the Dremel Stylo for Christmas. Fits like your holdi g a pencil and has variable speeds. You should look into getting one. I believe they're $50 at Lowes.

Thank you, Carlos, John and BlackSheep. Last year Carlos gave me my first Dremel. 2018 was the year I graduated into the world of the Dremel! Unfortunately my brain is still partially wired to think only of hand tools. We all deal with the coefficient of difficulty—in this case I have to fit the little grinders (sorry I don’t know Dremelese very well) between the front lip and the raised ribs which hold the radial engine. My worry is to grind the plastic too deeply. This is not much of a worry, more of a concern, I guess.

A dremel is just one option. There are many others that would work as well, although maybe not as quickly. For ejector pin marks that are raised, I often use a curved x-acto blade to slice it off. Since you are working on the inside of a curved surface, the blade may not "fit" without gouging the plastic outside of the pin mark. You can also work the blade perpendicular to the pin mark surface and scrape it away, layer by layer but again, working within the confines of the cowling may pose some interference. And then there is good ole sand paper. Just make sure you use a coarse enough grit to really bite into the plastic or else you'll be wearing down the surrounding areas at the same time as the pin mark.

If you use the Dremel, make sure you start with the slowest speed. My rotary tool will melt plastic at the slowest setting if I leave the stone turning in one place too long.

Thank you so much for these great ideas, John. I would rather start with a file, sandpaper and a curved blade once the plastic is softened up then pull out the Dremel only if need be. I don’t mind the slower approach. I do need to start practicing with the Dremel, though.

I'm with you I have a Dremel but rather go at things by hand you can always take more off but its a lot harder to put back on.

I have a couple of old electric toothbrushes that I was thinking of modifying into small power sanders to deal with those pesky ejector pin marks. Seriously.

Actually I could see that working