@HankCowdog and others have occasionally mentioned painting 3D printed parts but I would like to hear some specific advice on what works well and what to avoid. I have used whatever spray paint I had on hand successfully but what if you need to use a small brush on specific areas? Is primer needed?
Gunze Sangyo Mr Surfacer (available at hobby shops) is a primer for plastic models. It has a miraculous property of filling in small gaps while preserving surface detail. There are different thicknesses between “500” (thick and brush-on) and “2000” (spray on). You can use it in multiple coats, sanding between, to build up material in the valleys while sanding off the peaks, to get a smooth surface.
As with all paints/glues, practicing on something you don’t care about is advised.
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This model was fully 3d printed on an FDM printer and painted.
I used this process:
- Pre-Sanding, with 80, 120, 200 and 400 grit sandpaper.
- Filler primer
- Sand with 120, 200 and 400 grit sandpaper until plastic is exposed and the primer is only in the low spots
- Filler primer again
- Sand with 200 and 400 grit sandpaper to eliminate high spots.
- Regular primer from my airbrush, model spray primer would work too
- Sand any problem spots with with 400 grit
- Paint the rest like any plastic thing.
Is this overkill…probaly ya
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Impressive! How many hours to print? How many hours to finish? ABS or PLA?
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~30ish hours of printing I think.
I didn’t keep track of finishing or painting… its a hobby best not pay to much attention to the time costs…
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No! Its for fun. Great job!
This goes double for 3D printing. It will teach patience or at least to tolerate a slow process.
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Indeed, I’m learning slowly. And I do appreciate those who have the patience and talent to create nice things such as @frank_lima and others: Show and Tell June 2020
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