THE CLUBHOUSE

Hello everybody, I recently purchased a 3D bust from someone on Etsy. I have no experience with working with a 3D kit. This one is super light weight and the seller told me it's made of tianse PLA. It's covered with very fine lines/ridges which makes it look pretty bad. I can't paint it with those lines, it would look awful. I've tried sanding, that works for some areas but it isn't going to work for the rest, way too much area, deep grooves in tiny spaces. I see some 3D sculpts on here unpainted, just out of the printer that do not have these grooves. So why is mine different, and is there some good way to get rid of these millions of ridges, smooth them out somehow? Thanks a lot. I feel like I wasted my money.

There's 2 main type of 3d prints - those done by extruding melted plastic like PLA or ABS through a hot nozzle (FDM), and those that cure layers of photosensitive resin with laser or UV light (SLA).

FDM typically has a resolution (layer height) of around 0.2 mm which results in visible layer lines, whereas SLA has a resolution of 0.02mm - 10 times higher - and it's much harder to see the actual layers.

Sounds like you have a FDM print...

Is there a filler to use, or some other way to get rid of the lines besides sanding them?

You can use epoxy putty or gesso. Smooth on sells a finishing product, which is basically resin you sponge brush on, but it tends to obliterate detail.

This link shows some techniques for dealing with print lines on small 3D printed figures. I have not done
this, but I saved the information for future reference.

http://reedoak.com/how-to-prepare-reedo ... for-paint/

Thanks David W for the link. I have experienced the same frustration in looking at 3D printed pieces how off the printer only to discover the fine lines. This technique is definitely worth trying. Are there any other methods for getting rid of these lines?

Zeiram wrote:You can use epoxy putty or gesso. Smooth on sells a finishing product, which is basically resin you sponge brush on, but it tends to obliterate detail.

Thanks for the replies! I'm interested in the Smooth On stuff but I can't find it at their site, I dont really know what I'm looking for, lol. Do you have the name of the product?

Here is the Smooth-On product-

https://www.smooth-on.com/products/xtc-3d/

harpooner54 wrote:Here is the Smooth-On product-

https://www.smooth-on.com/products/xtc-3d/

Fantastic. Thank you!

You can also try the Punished Props channel on YouTube for advice. They have done a bunch of 3d prints, it's weapon and armor props for cosplay but the same methods for cleaning up a print should still apply.

I also agree by checking out Punished Props. Look for a video on finishing Mr. Handy. Bill has a very set method of sanding, then filler primer and sanding and bondo etc. Bill also did a good video on MatterHackers site.

I forgot to mention Gunze-Sanyo Mr. Dissolved Putty. I've used that to finish surfaces of 3D printed parts pretty nicely. It does a good job of smoothing out the contours and its thin enough to not obliterate detail. On the downside, it's kind of hard to find and a bit expensive.