Questions about painting 3D printed parts...

With the number of 3D printed parts that are increasingly available, I'm curious if there are any special steps needed for painting and finishing them.

I'm guessing that they are treated like any other plastic parts. Sand as needed to remove unwanted surface textures, wash with soap and water to remove any oils/dust, allow to dry, and paint.

Anybody know of a "Gotcha!" that we should all know about? For example brand X paint won't stick to parts made from polyXXXXine plastic (or worse, melts it).

Thanks
Jim

I think I would skip the wash and use a dry tack cloth. The surface appears solid but it probably has small pores that might retain water for a long time. There shouldn't be a problem with oils like what you'd find with a blow molded part, since there is no mold release. Acrylic modeling paint is commonly used.

Gary

Depends on what they are made of. For Shapeways parts, check out this article about using dye to color them:
https://makezine.com/2013/05/09/how-to-dye-your-3d-prints/

For FDM style parts, the filament is usually either PLA or ABS. There's probably pages on how to paint those materials out there.

kj

I'm interested in the answer too, by somebody that has actually applied paint to one of these parts. I have a camera shroud that I have been thinking of painting to match my flat black stealth rocket. Though, the shroud is grey, which isn't a bad match, and is why I haven't painted it yet and posted the results in this thread.

hball55 said:

I'm interested in the answer too, by somebody that has actually applied paint to one of these parts. I have a camera shroud that I have been thinking of painting to match my flat black stealth rocket. Though, the shroud is grey, which isn't a bad match, and is why I haven't painted it yet and posted the results in this thread.

Click to expand...

Sharpie pen?

I have done extensive painting of 3D Printed parts, and you can paint them almost exactly like any other plastic. The small ridges from the printing process can either be sanded away or simply ignored if surface 'shinyness' isn't required.

The only issue is it may be difficult to fill tiny gaps on the top of flatter parts. I recommend a VERY light coat of filler if that is the case.

Here is some of what I have done with (mostly) standard home depot rustoleum on PLA and ABS:

Ok, we have 2 views of Magneto's helmet, a Pip-Boy from the Fallout series, two images of the infinite ammo gun from Borderlands 2, and a shield from either Borderlands or Borderlands 2, but the bricks in pic #5 I don't recognize....

G.D.

gdiscenza said:

Ok, we have 2 views of Magneto's helmet, a Pip-Boy from the Fallout series, two images of the infinite ammo gun from Borderlands 2, and a shield from either Borderlands or Borderlands 2, but the bricks in pic #5 I don't recognize....

G.D.

Click to expand...

Here was the finished brick #5 in use
(Salvador's Class Mod)