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Painted 3D Printed Squirrel

summerella_nonadmin

was kind enough to print me up a cute little squirrel, then stick it in acetone for about 30 minutes to smooth it out.  We had long wondered what they would look like painted, so over the weekend I whipped out my (giant) collection of nail polish and painted this little guy a metallic teal.

 

I really like it. It smooths out the lines nicely and give it a good feel. What do you think??

 

He has an aceton-ed gummy bear I'm painting later this week.....

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  • Acetone baths make the parts look as though injection molding was used.  This is also a great way to clean off any artifacts that is left on the part after printing.

     

    Nate

  • in reply to Nate1616

    Nate,

     

    Very true regarding acetone baths. I have a small platform to ensure proper handling of small 3D printed objects - just attach a small off-center motor (I used the vibrational element out of an old pager) and stand-off the platform from the base of your acetone chamber (I used non-reactive silicone pads) and this keeps the concentration of acetone and dissolved filament fairly constant around the entire object - and can be done using spare parts for almost nothing.

     

    Kirk

  • in reply to Nate1616

    Do you get discoloration?  For PLA, I've found it turns white after coming out of 100% acetone bath for 30 minutes.  It seems to react with the air.

     

    Is there specific brand of acetone?   I just bought 100% acetone nail polish remover (clear, no color) at Family Dollar

  • in reply to fustini

    Drew does it even work properly for PLA ?

    I thought the acetone was purely for ABS, also has anyone tried the idea of a warmed Acetone bath with the object suspended above it.

    The acetone vapours evaporate and condense around the part then drip back in to the bath and thus smooths out the part with out the severe dissolved look that some parts end up with!

  • in reply to fustini

    PLA and acetone do not work like ABS and acetone.  The white you are seeing is actually from small bubbles when the PLA comes in contact with the acetone.  PLA is normally amorphous but when in contact with acetone turns into a crystalline. The parts will become very brittle.   Slightly off topic but interesting is if you adjust the Ratio of Acetone/ethanol you can have influence on the crystalline layout (sorry  my Chemical Engineering background coming through). If you want to smooth PLA the best chemicals would be Tetrahydrofuran (THF) or Dichorlomethane (DCM) but would recommend using THF as its safer to use.  THF has better results with PLA 4032 not 4042/4043.

     

    Nate

  • Here's the the latest critter...

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  • in reply to Problemchild

    John,

     

    Using a heated solvent bath to envelop your target object with volatized vapors is commonly referred to as "fuming" and can be used to accomplish some very interesting artistic treatments with wood, metal, etc. Be careful if you decide to approach that type of use, as it involved respirators, air scrubbers, and a fuming hood to protect people, animals and plants nearby. It can also be explosive or highly flammable depending on the type of reactive chemical you are using, or the resulting gasses can react with local materials to create very dangerous compounds.

     

    Kirk

  • in reply to Former Member

    Yes I know, I was merely asking about people's experience with it. Either way it's good that you put the safety rider on it for those who don't know as a fire or poisoning from this stuff is easy to achieve image.

     

    Also this is similar to the method they use to degrease metal parts using trichloethane ....ha  the smells image