From the course: Additive Manufacturing: Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

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Painting and dying 3D prints

Painting and dying 3D prints

From the course: Additive Manufacturing: Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

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Painting and dying 3D prints

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- (Instructor)Most lower cost 3D printers create a print in one material and one color. For many applications this is all you need. However, you might want to paint or dye some parts after printing. We'll focus here on painting pieces created on a filament 3D printer. PLA is easy to print and might be your best bet. Assuming your part won't be in a hot environment. ABS also takes paint Well, but it's harder to print with. Nylon and PETG generally won't hold paint very well. They can both be colored with fabric dye though, using dyes intended for nylon and polyester fabric respectively. 3D prints made with a filament printer have visible layer lines. Some materials can be sanded to remove the layer lines. Rough sanding will also leave some surface texture, that will give the paint more to stick to. However fine features are difficult to sand. A less destructive way to remove layer lines, can be to fill them with…

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