3D printing roughness?

Thanks for the tips!

I believe the acetone trick is what I had heard of, a while back.

I haven't tried anything on it yet. May be a while!

I have used standard putty (like squadron's) to good effect. I have also used 2 part epoxy and have brushed it on to flat surfaces. Howeve you have to make sure it does not "run". I have toyed with using acetone, but I feel it is too inflamable and too dangerous. You can also cover flat areas with sheet styrene.

Hey Fermis :

  I have this for what it is worth . I have a 1/43 car that's 3-d printed .To smooth the surface I used Mr.Surfacer 500 .

I saw this video some months ago, but didn't really want to risk testing the technique

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xFUNFG-UKE

It's acetone vapor to smooth out the edges. didn't seem like the sort of thing that would protect details very well. ymmv

If you're still working on this there are a couple things you can use. Pieces printed in WSF need to be sealed before painting/finishing. You can do this with the very thin superglue, Smooth-On makes a product just for sealing, or a product like Thompsons Water Seal. I've had great results with the super glue method. Sealed and sanded an entire 24th scale car body in less than 10 minutes - apply the super glue, spread out using a stiff card, let it dry and sand with 400+ grit sponge. Then its on to prime and paint as usual.

aa guns i get from this link www.3dmodelparts.com/ almost look like they come from plastic injection moldsb as some of the flat surfaces of the parts are shiny smooth.

Besides sanding intricate parts, there is nothing I can think of to remedy a rough part.  The stuff from 3-D printing companies have not impressed me until today, when I got a replacement docking bay for the Zvezda Imperial Star Destroyer from Falcon 3D.  The lighting in my office isn't great, but from what I can see, the part looks practically paint-ready, which is an achievement IMHO.  I'll have to scruitinize the parts under the glare of my workbench light to make a final call, but they look promising.

https://flic.kr/p/ZTF5Xm][/url]Falcon 3D-ISD Bay-02 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

So I think it is down to the printing outfit's machines that will determine the quality or lack thereof of the resulting parts.  3-D printing technology is still evolving, so we are in a time of transition where quality and price are improving every year.

You can try brushing on acetone or lacquer thinner on the part, thet will melt down the ridges, just be careful not to use to much

John

Since the large parts were layer deposited instead of sintered, then go to step two as Don suggested and depend on the primer to fill the "deposited layers".  I was referred to use Tamiya Mr Surfacer on my 1/700 scale Enterprise island and it worked good.  Because of the tight space in between the details, I used sanding sticks, a soft toothbrush, and Q-Tips to clean the surfaces.  

Don Stauffer

Some primers, especially those made for auto body work, are very thick.  They are intended to cover minor scratches and blemishes from sanding and fillers, so they have a lot of body.  They can hide fine detail a bit, but for priming 3D printing I think they would be ideal.  Just haven't tried it myself yet.

 

 

I was kinda thinkin about that myself.

One piece in particular, is quite rough. The layers are clearly visible and the thing feels about like 150 grit sandpaper. This material doesn't sand very well either. The piece is large enough, I think I can get away with layering a paint/primer without losing detail.

scottrc

Since these are sintered, they may feel dusty and tacky.  Shapeways gave me instructions to let the parts sit in the sun for while to let the material finish its UV cure, then spray the parts down with something like Simple Green or dish detergent, scrub with a soft bristled toothbrush, rinse good with luke warm water, and dry them with a hairdryer in low heat.  

 

I got these through Shapeways. Two items are done in a soft-ish, almost clear material...these ones aren't all that bad. The larger piece is a solid white material and the texture is far beyond just some surface dust/grit.

D. Lindsey

An air eraser works well. Got mine from Harbor Frieght. Like a mini sandblaster that you shoot baking soda through. 

 

Not a bad idea...but I really don't need another piece of "equipment" taking my money and what little space I have left!

Some primers, especially those made for auto body work, are very thick.  They are intended to cover minor scratches and blemishes from sanding and fillers, so they have a lot of body.  They can hide fine detail a bit, but for priming 3D printing I think they would be ideal.  Just haven't tried it myself yet.

 

An air eraser works well. Got mine from Harbor Frieght. Like a mini sandblaster that you shoot baking soda through. 

Since these are sintered, they may feel dusty and tacky.  Shapeways gave me instructions to let the parts sit in the sun for while to let the material finish its UV cure, then spray the parts down with something like Simple Green or dish detergent, scrub with a soft bristled toothbrush, rinse good with luke warm water, and dry them with a hairdryer in low heat.