BETTER cleaning & curing of 3D resin prints [EASY METHOD]

[@philhathaway708]

Be careful spraying your prints with an airbrush. I did this for the first couple of months of resin printing, and ended up with a bad skin reaction on my face and exposed arms. It seems that the process atomises the resin/IPA and it settles everywhere. Also, when using the swirl-in-the-jar method, try to find a container with a lid, as this can lead to splashes.

[@Explore-Gobal]

That's a great tip/observation and makes a lot of sense. Many people assume if you can't see it, it's not there. Will keep this one in mind, thanks.

[@vogman]

Thanks for the VERY IMPORTANT SHARE. Safety is easily overlooked. Even though I wear mask and gloves, I don't use a face shield. I think your comments warrant a reconsideration of my safety gear - and hopefully all others that read this. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@5FSF]

@@vogman This is actually true of quite a few chemicals that either appear harmless or that contain particles you don't see. As a general rule, air pressure should never be used with anything that can damage your skin, eyes, or if it is harmful to be ingested. Issues like this can be especially nefarious because you can't see exactly where things go. I can tell you from experience working in chemical manufacturing plants that pressurized air gets much, much further than you would expect it to. Given the issues with liquid resin causing potentially serious reactions, a face shield would also be inadequate. If you wear glasses, I'm sure you have experienced how often things will seemingly defy the laws of physics to wrap around them and get into your eyes, and the same would occur with a face shield. You can also contaminate surfaces that you never touch and would otherwise consider safe, but the particles will collect atop surfaces just like dust will. It can even settle inside the fabric of your clothing, in your hair, on one or both surfaces of your mask, on the outside of your glove container, etc. My alternative recommendation is to use a cheap toothbrush. It takes a little bit more time but it is much less likely to cause issues unless you scrub too hard with your face within about a foot of the print and get caught by tiny splashes. My steps are usually to use a shop towel (specifically NOT regular paper towels) to remove as much liquid as I can in large passes. Then I take the toothbrush and start going over the print with the towel still between the print and the brush, this allows the bristles to push the towel into harder to reach spaces and dry everything without risking tiny splashes from the bristles moving. After I go over it like that to dry the larger cavities its just back and forth with the towel and the brush until its dry. You likely will not have to do as many passes as I do after switching to mean green which does not evaporate nearly as fast as IPA. Edit: I also wanted to suggest getting a few plastic trays, the kind that you might see in a cafeteria. You can place these onto surfaces that you don't want to dirty with water, liquid resin, or alcohol such as wood that could absorb them. You can spill all over the place inside the tray with no worries and cleanup is very easy. They're made to be less porous than other plastics that can potentially hold bacteria or particles and are largely heat resistant out of necessity because they typically run through industrial dishwashers.

[@karllautman]

Perhaps airbrushing inside a small container with a transparent cover, like an improvised glove box, would eliminate a lot of the problem.

[@MrKfadrat]

toothbrush, compared to airbrush, its awful idea. airbrush at least has a directional cone, brushes bristles are essentially tiny catapults. way way worse when it comes to particles in the air. obviously safety first, but lets not hop into spacesuits just because we paint miniatures. if someone is worried - just use ultrasonic cleaner and dont do other steps. no point getting sandblasting fumehoods for just spraying a resin miniature if one is not allergic (and not everybody is)

[@gravesclay]

Just put your IPA in a glass jar and run it through a few 60 minute curing cycles. Let the cured resin settle out and filter off the liquid. It comes out crystal clear and non-sticky every time.

[@UncleJessy]

I really need to start multi cleaning my prints like this! Clearly much better results

[@vogman]

Great to hear from one of the experts 😁 👍👍👍 If nothing else, dunk, ultrasonic and air dry (even with an ordinary hairdryer on cool) and you'll be amazed at the results.

[@WizarfOneOhOne]

@@vogman afraid I haven't an ultrasonic

[@vogman]

I hear you. Not everyone has. For those with one it's a great tool. For those without, hopefully there's enough other options here to help 😁

[@TrepidDestiny]

One of the ways I extended the life of my IPA in the past, was I placed it on my balcony where the sun shines most of the day, and allowed the slurry to "cure". Make sure you don't have an airtight lid, as there will be pressure build up. After this curing, the IPA was mostly clear again (slightly yellowed) and I was able to strain it off. It left behind a goopy yellow/grey sludge that I was able to dispose of.

[@msamyweber]

Great idea, I will be making "reflectors" for my curing station tomorrow. That makes SO much sense. Thank you

[@vogman]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jarradbradley6934]

Something that’s worked well for me, especially when you can’t fit the build plate into your wash’s ipa tub (like my mighty 4K plate ) and have to remove the prints from the BP first, is to cut a piece of plastic fly-screen mesh into a shape so that it covers all the insides of the wash basket. This way the tiny parts that would normally get swirled to oblivion are held safe in the mesh cage. The same mesh can also be used to wrap the print in while you “airbrush” or air-gun dry your prints. Again this protects them and stops them rocketing off into space when you don’t have a super tight grip on that part. Cheers and thanks for the great vid

[@vogman]

Excellent suggestion. A finer mesh is a big advantage with tiny parts 😁👍👍👍

[@finnon7460]

Just got my first printer(Anycubic Photon Mono) a few days ago. Watching your videos and reviews over the past year helped me take the plunge into this wonderful hobby. You seriously make the most charming, helpful, and to-the-point 3d printing videos on KZbin :) Thanks for sharing all of your tips and experience, you've helped the community immensely

[@vogman]

Thanks Finnon. There's plenty of excellent Community suggestions amongst these comments too 😁

[@jjpython]

Great video, I've just made the leap and bought a mono X2, I've 7 years with fdm machines and this makes me feel like a newbie all over again

[@KyleofAsgard]

As someone who hasn't committed to developing my own multi stage system yet, this was a fantastic video, lots of awesome points that I haven't seen brought up before, and will definitely use some of these down the line!! :D Great work!!

[@vogman]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jelle123123]

Hey VOG, I also found another way to filter your used IPA. I use an easy alcohol filter (commonly used in home brewing kits), I've added a carbon cylinder to filter out the resin from used alcohol. Ive usedi about 30 times now and the liquid still comes out clear. As long as ya dont keep it in direct sunlight. Id love to show ya and hear what ya think!

[@vogman]

Sounds like a clever idea Mark 😁👍👍👍

[@martinbirrell57]

I have heard that people expose their IPA to UV to make the resin turn solid then filter it. I have yet to give this a try.

[@ballsyau1974]

How many uses of the carbon fo you get?

[@Miketz]

If you want to stick aluminium foil onto a smooth glass/plastic surface, just spray some water or spray cleaner on the surface and press the foil directly onto it. When everything is dry, the foil stays in place. And it's easily removed, leaving no marks. Great for windows in full sun, and UV curing stations.

[@vogman]

I've never come across that. Excellent tip!!! 😁😁😁😁😁

[@AlexPTwigg-ql3ci]

Thorough as always. Your attention to the details of your process is great.

[@vogman]

I appreciate that Alex, thanks 😁

[@nonamo5700]

Very handy and THOROUGH how-to video. Thank you, I will definitely try these out in my next prints!

[@vogman]

Glad it was helpful!

[@OutLan]

Just now finding this a year later. Fantastic! Exactly what I was looking for!

[@andy-in-indy]

Lots of good info. I don't have a Wash and Cure type machine, so I have been ding the dunk, then brush(if needed), and Ultrasonic (in a glass container, but that will change now). I am happy with my cure setup, which is a pair of 30W UV Lamps (that do extra duty for retro-brighting old plastics and curing resin used as filler in FDM prints) and a solar powered turntable (it turns under the UV lights).

[@vogman]

Sounds very similar set up. Thanks for the share 😁😁😁

[@garykeess2382]

Great video. I've just purchased my first printer and am in the midst of getting a spot for it set up in the basement. Is there any reason you picked that particular ultrasonic cleaner? size? shape? I noticed the bigger one (3 L) is less expensive than the 2 L. (at least here in Canada) . It is wider but not quite as tall. I haven't printed anything yet so am not sure what is more useful or if it really matters. .

[@Grrizz84]

I have 3 small containers and 2 large containers (+ the wash station container); I use a small prewash container and large wash station container for a week or two while another small and large container of IPA sits on a window sill, this gives the resin a good chance to settle in the container. After a week or two I pour the wash station containers IPA into the spare large container and decant the one that had been on the window sill into the wash station container. Then decant the small container of IPA that had been settling into the other spare small container to use for prewashing. I then let the dirty IPA and 'empty' dirty containers sit in front of a window. After a few days the settled gunge at the bottom of the empty containers can be scraped out. Rinse and repeat every couple of weeks, letting the IPA settle gets rid of a surprising amount of resin. The small prewash containers get most of the gunk too so the main wash station (and bearing) stays relatively clean, I found this gives me very good cleaning results because the main wash IPA isn't filled with small particulates of gummy resin. After washing in the station I rinse under warm-to-hot water to make sure as much IPA and resin has been removed and the warmth helps make easy work of the support removal, then just pat/blow it dry and do the final cure. 😊

[@flamingomtn]

Question about recycling your IPA...do you put the used IPA in UV light before you run it through the filter to solidify any suspended resin? If so, what causes the stickiness? It seems like the resin would filter out once it was cured. I've only used water-washable resin so far but I do put my used water in a clear container in the Florida sun for a day before filtering out the resin.

[@paullancaster297]

Hi - Similar process, I have purchased a second build plate for my printers and stand the print/build plate on its end in a container for and hour or so to drain, then use a couple of Sistema containers, the first as an IPA dunk and brush tank (a 1" or 25mm chepo paint brush) then a pickle jar - these have a sealable lid with a strainer inside, half filled with IPA shake and swirl, then allow to drain. Followed by a wash in the Anycubic wash n cure machine. Due to the build plate size of my Mono X, I have to remove the prints from the build plate after the initial dunk and brush stage. The Mercury wash staition looks impressive. I also distill the used IPA in a Water distiller - set the cut off temp to 90C - for water it's set to 105C, the temp will stay at 84C (ish) until all the IPA has evaporated. The condesate is pure clean IPA. Warning the fumes are horendous, so I do this outside on preferable a cool day. The residue is removed from the distiller and allowed to cure in the air then disposed of.

[@christophermacier]

Just got my Elegoo Saturn 2 and your videos are a huge help. Going to do my first test print in a bit.

[@vogman]

Go slow. If this is your first resin printer expect failures. Whenever you do, empty the resin tank, filter the resin back into the bottle, clean everything and start again. This is very important. If you have a blob stuck to your FEP and you continue trying a new print, this can puncture the FEP. Don't worry, you'll soon get there. Misprints will happen, but they'll get fewer and fewer 😁

[@smoll.miniatures]

Great vid as all ways. I found that the ultrasonic was pitting the surface and it took me weeks to find out what the cause was. I’ve went back to the wash and cure.

[@50043211]

WOW, the qualitiy of the print is really impressive! If I only had the space for all the gadgets ...

[@vogman]

We all start of with plenty of space and no gadgets... then quickly we have no space and too many gadgets 😁

[@TDax]

I bought a 2nd tank for my anycubic wash n cure. I now have a 'dirty tank' used to do the initial clean, and a 'clean tank' used to finish the job. When the 'dirty tank' gets really dirty I clean it out, filter the dirty IPA, and convert the original 'clean tank' to a 'dirty tank', and refill the original dirty tank with clean/ recycled IPA to make a new 'clean tank'

[@vogman]

Smart move. 😁

[@magnificus8581]

I really appreciate your videos and how accessible they are to a beginner like me (plus your humor has me in stitches!). Just got my first printer and wondering if just using water washable resin solves all of these issues?

[@glowing_kitty]

Interesting approach. Didn’t consider the air blasting part yet. But to be fair, I typically only print larger parts - cases for my LED projects mostly. My approach is slightly different: first removing the print from the build plate, then removing the support (by hand or with a tiny saw), then clean in a dirty IPA bath by hand, then use sandpaper to remove the remainings of the support (so the surfaces are smooth), then clean again in dirty IPA, then clean in “clean” IPA in my Anycubic Wash & Cure Plus Station for up to 4 minutes, then dry the print with a fan on coolest settings, then place the print in a transparent plastic container filled with water and let that container cure in the wash & cure station for 2 min, then dry the print with paper towel, then completely dry the print with the fan on coolest settings again - and done ^^

[@vogman]

Thanks for the share 😁

[@sergiosalazar1731]

Awesome video! Which are the better cure time-set for curing your minis???

[@coulterjb22]

Nice approach! I use Ziplock freezer bags in my ultra-sonic cleaner. When done, make sure to stand the bag up! You will inevitably find the ziplock wasn't sealed all the way one day = cussing mess.

[@vogman]

Great idea!!

[@gagglegames]

I got a salad spinner to clean my prints. Drop in my models, close the lid and spin it back and forth a few times, then lift out the inner bowl. Works like a treat for a couple quid.

[@Sharpevil]

Very interesting! You're getting great results. I actually use nearly the opposite method: I first give my models a heated bath in the ultrasonic cleaner (Directly in Mean Green degreaser concentrate), then finish them off with a little swish in IPA. I find it gives fairly similar results, with the added benefit of making it much easier to remove supports after the heated ultrasonic stage. I'm planning on adding the Mercury X to my production line once it's available for purchase again. Also, was that Siraya Tech Navy Grey I saw at the start of the video? It seemed a bit darker and bluer. If it is, I hope it's treating you well. It certainly appears to be by the results shown.

[@vogman]

If it works for you, keep doing it 😁

[@scottflorida7954]

What do you use for the warm bath?

[@tuliogodinho3674]

Good evening my friend, thanks for the enlightening content! How long do you leave in the UV station? I usually leave it for 30 minutes but I feel that it heats up the lamps a lot, I don't know if it can cause problems.

[@vogman]

Personally I only cure for 5 minutes with most prints. Biggers one maybe 10 to 20 minutes. They don't need much 😁

[@arthurpaiva300]

10/10 tip for the curing station upgrade TY

[@vogman]

Many thanks 😁😁😁

[@BEdmonson85]

Another excellent video as always! I use two buckets with denatured alcohol. One it's pretty dirty stuff and the other is relatively clean. I also use a dedicated soft paint brush to agitate the surface of the print to help remove the stubborn bits of uncured resin. The thing that makes the biggest difference though is that I also use compressed air to blast the prints dry. Perfectly clean prints every time! :)

[@vogman]

Nice share, thanks 😁

[@para2konrad]

Love the videos since they are very informative, helpful and teachable.

[@vogman]

Glad you like them!

[@Daepilin]

Oh, I will be so well prepared once I finally find the time to get a resin setup going :O Great content :)

[@vogman]

Preparation is key. Acquiring knowledge is never time lost 😁😁😁

[@RocketMagnetUK]

To stop parts sticking through the basket and getting hit by the impeller print a rectangular spacer with holes in it that fits the bottom of the basket. It will also reduce the vortex depending on the spacer thickness and hole size/shape. I'd also add some handles to help remove the part protector spacer when you need to.

[@dans-designs]

some great tips here! I have a couple more if you dont mind.. Make a filter from cheap coffee filter paper and activated carbon (fish filter or charcoal will do) and pour the used IPA thru that, collecting the resultant filtered IPA.. this can be done at least 5 times without creating a sticky IPA.. the carbon will have to be replaced ever 4-5 times as it does become saturated.

[@vogman]

Thanks for the idea!

[@Daniel-sz3gm]

Hey vogman. Doing my first set of prints after working my way through about 15 of your videos. How long do you need to cure a print for?

[@blaze556922]

New to this and taking notes. One thing I notice is that most have an easier time removing excess by soaking in warm water after the final alcohol bath

[@blueckaym]

Nice video! I only wonder how do you deal with hollowed massive(ish) prints, and getting out the resin (ideally even curing it a bit on the inside). I just started 3d printing this month. I subscribed to Artisan Guild and got this month's set 'Defenders of Lok-Badar II' dwarves & gryphons (I really like the gryphons!), to print as a gift to a friend that's deep in D&D. So in that set there's a kings throne, which is rather bulky, and fortunately I printed after I started thinking about hollowing structures. This one was really easy, as the shape is combination of cuboid, so the inner space when hollowed is wide and all connected, and also there's plenty of flat surface at the bottom to drill big enough holes. However (for some reason) I tried printing one hollowed gryphon, and while I somehow managed it, I wouldn't say it was easy, and I'm still unsure if there's some uncured resin left inside. The first difficulty is that more complex shapes have narrower, complex and often separate cavities when hollowed out. One thing about hollowing I think is that if you have hollowed out a cavity but you can't make holes (or you don't want to make them because it's difficult to hide them afterwards) then it's a ticking bomb - only a matter of time for the print to break and leak some resin everywhere. The gryphon hollowing was challenging and I got to get ... creative ... It had two separate cavities - the gryphon itself and the stone column which supports it in the air (by casually touching it with a foot and tail). The column was a bit easier, since its bottom would later be glued on a baseplate and would hide the bigger hole I made, but to be sure I added a small hole on the top too. That top hole is visible, though partially hidden under the gryphon's tail. But the gryphon was extremely challenging to hollow out. It's a complex shape, but fortunately it made a single cavity, just a wiggly and thin at some places, but also it didn't have any convenient places to hide the drain holes. So when I said that I got creative I mean that I put two holes where gryphons (and us too) have holes ... for the Ins & Outs :) One tiny hole in its mouth, just where the throat should be, and another slightly larger ... under the tail :) Because of the tight inner cavity and small holes I worried that it might be a failure (in the sense that it wouldn't be safe if it was a risk of leaking resin), so I got hopeful, when I saw some bubbles coming out of its mouth when submerged in the alcohol (the stone column was easy to drain). So I drained it many times manually dipping it in & out to get the IPA in and then out. But it's difficult to see the IPA draining out since all the gryphon is wet with it and the IPA was probably more than the one dripping from inside. The only way I knew it worked were the air bubbles that came out its mouth when I submerged it again & again. But even now that's it's clean and post-cured (so that I can safely put my lips on it) I have a very hard time to blow air from its mouth (thru its other hole). It does work, some air comes out, and no resin leaks, but I really have to blow hard :D So do you have any advice (or perhaps video already) on hollowing prints?

[@methuso]

i put my cleaned prints in a jar of clean water for the curing cycle. to me the results look much better and also the surface feels better. something about resin curing better when not in contact with air. also i use car-windshield-cleaner instead of ipa. much cheaper and works.

[@InterstellarModeler]

Thanks for this video. I'll be sharing the link to this on my channel.

[@vogman]

That's very kind, thanks 😁

[@happyfarang]

For cleaning the IPA, what i do, is i put it in a transparent cheap plastic container and leave it out in the sun a day or two (with a tight fitting lid on of course) and all the uncured resin becomes a nasty slur that you can filter off. Repeat a few times until you are happy with your IPA. It's nasty but it works :)

[@gotsane]

Hmm, I don't know if there is a discernable difference with my simple approach than yours. I purchase almost exclusively water-washable resin as I find it cheaper to avoid IPA when possible (although admittedly more difficult to dispose of) and largely only do a single long rinse in my wash and cure station (about 10 mins in an elegoo basic wash and cure). I, anecdotally, have decent results but I am curious if the increased washes/IPA makes a big difference.

[@RichardThompsonCA]

I use the airbrush trick like you do, but I put IPA in it, sort of a low pressure liquid blast. Seems to work well. Great video!

[@vogman]

Great to hear it. Thanks Richard 😁

[@youngtschakaloff]

Please try this: use hot water before removing supports, they basically come off by themselves! It really is effective. Also, i wonder how to properly get rid off old IPA. And should i cure the IPA before filtering it? How do i get it to be the cleanest again? Thanks!

[@vogman]

Thanks for the share. 😁👍👍👍 I have to be honest, hot water doesn't work for me, but maybe it's just my choice of resins

[@3DJapan]

If my print isn't too big I usually put the entire build plate in the cleaning station, hanging it from its attachment. One of my build plates doesn't fit the hanger attachment so I designed an adapter.

[@chopsworth3833]

These are some great tips. Could you possibly show a side by side comparison for a model using these extra steps compared to the same model using less refined techniques?

[@vogman]

It's a pity I didn't think of doing that 😁

[@HQBunker]

I'm not a chemist or didn't try anything like that, but can't you cure the resin in IPA to sieve it out totally?

[@admiralbees1690]

For anyone reluctant to invest in a compressor for cleaning, can I just say the difference it makes is IMMENSE. I ummmed and ahhhhd about the purchase for a while but got a little 24L silent compressor (for those that don't know, silent compressors are generally only 'silent' by compressor standards, as in you can have a conversation over it and use it without busting your ear drums). But seriously, couldn't work without it now. And as our VOG points out, can also use it for painting!

[@vogman]

24 Litre bad boy? I hope you turn down the pressure 😁😁😁

[@admiralbees1690]

@@vogman Nah, I've seen the Yorkie advert. Use the right tool for the job, and the right tool is the biggest! Jokes aside I do give the stuff quite a heavy blast after soaking in IPA, and it really helps get the crud out.

[@yagsipcc287]

I also have some useful tips myself. If you cant get hold of IPA for whatever reason be it stock or insanely expensive. Use White sprits or methylated spirts. It is just as good, I like to clean things off in it with a super soft brush or a cloth that has some on it and very... softly rub, then put it in the cleaner, after can remove some supports like you done if its covering details then rub it again if need to be. Let it air dry but after you will need to clean to get off the oil like stuff thats on it, use normal dish soap (a good quality brand as they are designed to removed oil and grease) put it on the model rub it in lightly and dip in and out of slightly warm water and it will be perfect! these spirts are dirt cheap I myself got 4 litres of it for about 7Euro. Its worth it to save some cash and only needs an extra little bit of work to clean the oil off, a couple more seconds per model really :-) There is no difference in overall quality, its cheap even if you are stuck on a tight budget with a small cheap printer :-)

[@harezy]

I have been using soapy water and a brush. Seems to work well with plant-based resin. Less toxic and I only have to buy washing-up liquid. I remove as many supports as possible depending on the part and reclean with a brush and jobs a gooden.

[@vogman]

Thanks for sharing!

[@AK-tl2nm]

Hello VOG, The Mercury X is designed to allow the build plate to sit directly inside the container of IPA, this both allows the build plate to also be cleaned at the same time and assures that small parts don't fall through the basket. Is there a reason you remove the model and allow it to sink to the bottom of the basket?

[@vogman]

Convenience is a big factor and take advantage when you can. But just remember, until a piece is removed from the plate, there's always uncured resin hidden and waiting to be cleaned. At least, that's my experience 😁

[@Shooter_FPV]

Still new to resin printing. What is the best cure time in a cure station?

[@CdoGtheGreat]

Sir I love your channel. Your videos are very informative, and I really like your sense of humor that you show on occasion 😄. I am on the market for my first resin printer. I thought about backing a couple of the eleego kickstarter printers but I don't want to wait that long and I'm not sure the suit my needs. I kind of want a large printer for printing full size 3d scans of faces possibly busts, but I want to do highly detailed and accurate small parts. I know there is a new large printer from peopoly but I don't want a super slow printer. Could you do a full gambit vs showdown video of all the resin printers you've reviewed and give the pros and cons of each with grades on which type of use each is best used for? I know this a huge ask, but I think this would be awesome and helpful and most importantly done by my favorite reviewer: 😀 thanks again for what you do.

[@patrickdillon500]

@vog that model from the opening, the big hulking demon, where is that from? It’s an excellent model! I just bought my first printer on friday and I’m searching for model artists to follow.

[@Робототехникаотдетейдлядетей]

Do I need to do two-step cleaning with water'washable resin?

[@scifimodelshop]

what is a good normal cure time? can it be over done is left in too long ?

[@karllautman]

Great video, VOG. Have you tried airbrushing with IPA instead of just air? That might remove even more resin before washing.

[@Wasphamma]

Excellent overview!

[@BenLewitt]

That's an awesome mini, what was it called? I didn't see it on their site.

[@dagamore]

From looking at the curing station, it does not look like the tops of the prints are getting a great flood of light, better after adding the Alu foil, but not great, do you thing it would be worth it to add a 405nm cure light to the top to add more uv?

[@vogman]

Some curers have top UV lighting. Phrozen for instance. Personally with the foil and lots of bouncing UVs, I've never had a bad experience with curing 😁

[@NeoDemocedes]

My first step is to remove supports in a tub of hot water. This seems to remove much uncured resin. I clean the print in IPA after. I leave the water in the sun before disposing. Is this bad?

[@WhereNerdyisCool]

Another great video! New video idea... as I am new, I am hearing from friends that they like to mix resins for stronger prints. I look forward to your thoughts!

[@vogman]

Personally I've never mixed and resins, but yes, I hear it's a way to get some great results 😁

[@red_eyed_sophist]

Wowowowowowowowow! This foil upgrade for W&C so genius! :O Ill make it! So sad, but phrozen resin very expensive...

[@grahampartridge9335]

Is the sonic wash so much better it would make sense to use one instead of a 3D printing washer ? There are some available that let you switch off the heat setting

[@vogman]

Hi Graham. I guess it depends on the size and shape of your typical prints. Personally I tend to use both... quick dip in dirty to remove the excess, a spin in the wash and then ultrasonic when the print is virtually clean. This just helps me prolong the life of my cleaning fluids and gets the best from the equipment I have. Some folks just use the ultrasonic, and usually ultrasonics don't heat unless asked to, but I think mine is a dud... vibrates well but gets warm. That's why I recommended these models vegoilguy.co.uk/equipment.php Importantly, you only need to use the ultrasonic for a couple of minutes. If you do it much longer, you risk ruining your prints. That means it shouldn't get hot anyway 😁

[@Alan_AB]

Brilliant. Are you going to paint it? I'd love to see it finished.

[@vogman]

I don't do much painting these days 😁

[@Jonas_Fox]

Thanks for all your great videos. I'm wondering, how long are you normally curing for? What do you consider too little and too much curing in that station you're using? I'm in the process of testing my own with water-curing. I'd love to see a video on that. Thanks again for all you do.

[@vogman]

With miniatures, usually 2 to 4 minutes. I've never had any issues 😁

[@Jonas_Fox]

@@vogman After some testing, I've been water curing my prints quite easily by dropping my parts into a dedicated pickle jar of distilled water. The jar fits perfectly on the UV turntable. The light really gets bounced around with the water and my cures have much less wetness in any of the cracks. I'm still running my cures for the 4 minutes which seems to work great. Thanks again!

[@JoshuaRilliet]

Hello, what is the first figurine we see, would you please have a link to find it?

[@mrgriff9648]

The main safety issue with the sonicator isn't due to the heating (it is one yes) it's due to the fact is creates a solvent vapour without it heating the liquid, as these cheap sonicators are not lab grade with spark protection they can auto ignite the vapour. Covering the pot with a lid, even one that's not clipped on will reduce the vapour that escapes.

[@vogman]

Good point. I've not noticed an increased smell, but it could be there. A sensible precaution 😁👍👍👍

[@omnomnomnivore2766]

I was just about to suggest the same thing. I use a ziploc bag filled with IPA, and then put it in water in the ultrasonic cleaner. Keeps the IPA fumes contained during the cleaning process

[@divyajnana]

Going to find the aluminum foil for the inside of my curing station, thanks for the tip.

[@Jimunu]

good showing of your procedure

[@vogman]

Many thanks 😁

[@SlickDiecast]

That’s a beautiful print.

[@vogman]

Thanks, but the credit goes to Archvillain Games 😁

[@grahamhanks906]

I.use an airbrush to dry my prints too, but only after the final clean rinse.

[@itsleme4288]

Always remove support before cleaning its help alot keeping the resine clean longer

[@vogman]

Very true!

[@TroyDeanOnTheRoad]

Have you considered distilling your IPA? Not sure if you can, but as a very young man I worked at a company where we used lots of acetone. I distilled it on a daily basis as part of my duty's. Granted it is dangerous as you heat it to a vapor, but as I see you do many technical things this might be an option for you. Plus, if you decide you do not like this method you could convert to SPIRITS. Just an idea... Great video, thanks.

[@vogman]

I have dabbled with distillation in my IPA recycling video... I decided against the hassle 😁

[@JoshuaRilliet]

Hello, could you tell me the name of the figure we see at the beginning of the video, the link to Archvilain does not work but I follow them on MyMiniFactory, however given the quantity of figurines they have produced so far it could take me literally hours to search and find your figurine, so if you could tell me its name it would allow me to find it more quickly, and by the way maybe change the link you put in the description that does not work. Thank you ;o) As far as the subject of the video is concerned, I use the same technique, I have a tray with IPA which isn't super clean but it's enough to remove most of the resin that's left on the miniatures, to "help" with the cleaning I use a brush to go just about everywhere. Then, like you, I put the part in the W&C with clean IPA, and when I get out I do the same thing, using my airbrush to remove as much IPA as possible from the small nooks and crannies of the parts and so dry them as much as possible. I remove the supports after this drying operation or sometimes I do it before drying so that the supports remain supple and easy to remove. I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner and I don't intend to buy one at the moment (a good ultrasonic cleaner is quite expensive and not necessarily necessary), as all the cleaning I do seems to be sufficient. Finally, of course, I put the pieces under UV light. To 'clean' the IPA I leave the containers containing the soiled IPA in the Soliel light, I don't care how long, I know they'll stay there for several days or even a few weeks. Once the sun has precipitated the resin residue, I can filter the IPA and reuse it. I do this routine all the time and I have to say it saves alcohol.

[@niklasdahlgren7641]

Utilize a clear container for the IPA when curing. after it gets dirty you put the sealed container in the sun and then filter the hardened resin "paste" from the alcohol. Now you can reuse the alcohol.

[@Shinobubu]

I have a high success rate in purifying IPA with a temperature controlled distiller and a semi-sealed container to drip into (using tubbing) to avoid excessive time scraping the distiller I coated the distiller with PFE spray before using it. some IPA is lost in evaporation but you still get a large amount back.

[@vogman]

Thanks for sharing 😁

[@transcendtient]

I take the supports off before I wash. Much less resin in the IPA means much less cleaning of the IPA. You can also avoid sticky IPA by curing your IPA. Leave it in the sun for a day. The resin will cure and you can filter it off.

[@charitybrown4274]

Great Video as always!! 👍

[@vogman]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@Fahnder99]

How do you think about Ultrasonic cleaning resin in IPA bags?

[@emrelee]

Great videos with a excellent voice for doing VoiceOver for children books :) I would like to ask something about that mini air compressor set you got there. I found this model "Gocheer Mini Airbrush Kit" on Amazon, it was recommended by a review site as well as the set you have here (Named as MASTER in US) too. But the reviewer said Master is prone to clogging. So If I might ask which one would you recommend as a compact, silent and reasonable priced set? Perhaps some other brand? Thank you

[@vogman]

I've already picked out a couple of suitable options here vegoilguy.co.uk/equipment.php but please be aware of two important things... 1) I suspect a lot of these cheap units are produced by one company and sold with different labels on them and 2) I was looking purely for a cheap air blaster that could also service a little primer or maybe IPA. If you're looking for a proper air brush for art purposes, you might want to look elsewhere.

[@emrelee]

@@vogman thanks a lot for the reply. Yeah i noticed that same device with different made up brand names thing on those devices as well. Actually I was planning on printing my own characters like superheroes and/or beasts that i design. Then wasnt thinking about airbrushing but perhaps painting here and there with brushes. But the device you showed there is compact and good priced to get used to placing base colors with airBrush. I pretty much preffer something that has capability of switching paint reservoirs. So that way i won’t be needing going thru all that cleaning the color and brush etc. Two days ago I got my Halot One + Anycubic wash&cure plus combo. Why i chose plus version was actually because i was going to get Halot Sky. But after seeing your Photon Ultra review. I wanted to start with something smaller and then if dlp trend kicks in next year, i would get my mid to large size printer as a dlp model. Sadly I haven’t seen any halot series review of yours. Even i did, i can’t remember after getting overwhelmed by couple of houndered reviews in few months. 🚀 .

[@markburton5292]

i use a multi step recycling for my ipa. once it gets to pretty useless stage it goes in to a air distiller then i have clean ipa again (note you do lose some during the distillation process which is why i don't distill it every time). i basically have two steps the first one in dunking in "cleaned ipa" and then into the wash and cure or sonic cleaner. after a few times in the wash and cure that gets set aside in a 2 liter (marked as ipa) put in the sun curing the resin suspended in the ipa and then that gets filtered into the dunking ipa i repeat that a few times until i feel it isn't cleaning as well. then it gets distilled and the distilled ipa along with any fresh new ipa goes back into the wash and cure. this extends the use of my ipa a lot.

[@vogman]

Thanks for the share 😁

[@lhinarizona6658]

Have you considered using a distiller from Amazon to recycle your IPA back to clean and pure? That would remove all your resin and leave it on the bottom of the distiller. Of course it would depend on the actual amount of IPA that you are using, as to whether it would be cost effective. But it might be something worth looking into.

[@ronaldod7116]

Doing this now for 6 months. Just get a distiller you can set on 87C to avoid a to hot distill. And put a hose on the pipe so you have less spillage.

[@vogman]

I haven't tried one of these. They look interesting, but make sure they're good for alcohol. Boiling alcohols is a tricky business, as I experienced in my IPA recycling video 😁

[@vogman]

Interesting 👍

[@MyAcer20]

if you put a uv light to the recycld ipa would it not just clump up and sink down

[@majorbaconbr]

Insted the airbrush could i use a small and weak hairdryer in the cold setting?

[@vogman]

Yes. I used to 😁

[@gruen-ing6647]

Great tips to try. Thank you! You really should do a full course "From design to finished Cast".

[@vogman]

Maybe one day! 😁

[@gruen-ing6647]

@@vogman Just. Do. It :)

[@Hobypyrocom]

i use 96% ethanol to clean the parts, 3 baths in different containers, the third one is always clear... i soak them for 5 minutes in the first bath, then i brush them with a brush, then 5 minutes in the second i brush them again and 10 minutes in the last bath without brushing... they come out perfect...

[@RocketMagnetUK]

It's a good system. 3 or more sequential stages where you discard dirty Stage 1 periodically.. 2 becomes 1 and 3 becomes 2 and you then make a new final "polish" wash stage 3. Home recovery of solvent is possible but a Rotary Vacuum Evaporator which would be the best method are too expensive for the home gamer.

[@Hobypyrocom]

@@RocketMagnetUK i am just exposing the baths #1 and #2 to UV after some time and filter the alcohol (also clean good the bath container)... i was thinking about distilling the alcohol after the UV exposure as a better way to clean it, but in my country lab glassware is impossible to buy :(

[@walidkhier]

Did you ever consider spraying IPA with an airbrush? It works very good.

[@PencilParasite]

yes ... if you are not a smoker ... 😅

[@greensun5998]

@VOG Hi, Two years ago you reviewed Elegoos water washable resin and at that time you said you preferred it to the standard resin, why aren't you using it now?

[@vogman]

Simply because I mainly use speciality resins, such as castable. If you get great printing results with water-washable, then stick with it 👍

[@kajn3206]

nice video good advice i use technically lichen then rinse in hot water from cac 38'c tap and vitvzovaci station i made UV led tape and aluminum box (from bathing) maybe they'll be inspired in the future and make a video

[@vogman]

Thanks for sharing

[@ianroberts8158]

Hope you are well great review as well 👍

[@vogman]

Thanks Ian, I'm good. My best to you and yours 😁😁😁👍👍👍

[@rtsstream]

I like to take the buiId plate with the print stil on it and dunk it in a small bin of ipa and swirl it around. ..THEN scrape it off the plate so im not dealin with resin. Then I pop it in a ultrasonic bath of ipa. Blast with air to completely dry. then I cure the entire thing at once with the supports which makes them super easy to remove once finished. Your method sprays resin everywhere..then you have to invidiually dip each piece in the alcohol. If you do the entire plate its fast and your hand stays out of the alchohol.

[@RaVeN1K]

You can clean the IPA by curing the resin inside with UV light. If you live in a hot climate you could just put the clear container in the sun and let it do the work.

[@theQuickRundown]

Great tips! But i would be careful with airblasting uncured resin around, unless you have a safe way to catch ALL of it and cure it in the sun. I just got my Anycubic washing station and I'm already thinking of buying some additional tupperware to mod the propeller into, to optimize IPA usage.

[@vogman]

I normally work inside a cardboard box, but it makes filming a nightmare 😁

[@NikkiAnnMarie]

Anycubic also sell additional wash containers, with the propeller, for about £15-20, so that's a much easier route if you don't want to mod your own

[@WizarfOneOhOne]

Hey VOG! I have a suggestion! If you put IPA in the AirBrush in the first step, it might clean even more!

[@vogman]

It's a valid suggestion, but watch out for those vapours. A mask is a must 😁

[@WizarfOneOhOne]

@@vogman I agree! I have an Israeli Gas Mask, and that stops everything, 10/10 idea! THANK YOU for the airbrush idea for real!

[@jtompkins1277]

What about spraying ISO through an airbrush on the print?

[@eduardovieira1919]

May i? I suggest joining steps 6 and 7, and spray the IPA with the airbrush. A little more pressure this way, and you can use the trigger control to spray/dry and check/ spray more if deemed necessary. In this case Phil Hathaway tip is paramount: It WILL be flung back on you!

[@vogman]

Comments and suggestions are always welcomed here 😁

[@JamesBuggemo]

I like using water wash resin. In theory only water is needed, but I finish with a brush and some IPA. The bonus is you can leave the water baths in the sun and let them evaporate. If it wasn’t horrifically contaminated, the resin can be peeled off the bath wall, otherwise it turns into a giant gummy bear.

[@ale6242]

Wow, yeah ok i've been dunking directly into the Wash and cure and getting reasonable but not perfect results. Totally going to add a "Dunk" station at the very least!

[@vogman]

It's a great use of dirty IPA and dunking really does shift the bulk, which keeps your wash station cleaner for longer 😁

[@willm59]

@@vogman Great tip. Thanks