Hide 3D print layer lines with Acetone and Glazing Putty

[@lobstersrs]

Rather than mixing up a bunch of the putty/acetone get a small piece of glass plate, a liquid syringe, and a paintbrush. Use the glass panel as a mixing palette for the putty/acetone, only mix small amounts of the putty to your specific desired consistency for the spot you are applying it, you can address single spots as needed, rather than fully coating an object. Once applied until dry it can be thinned/reshaped by using just the acetone on the brush, thinning a very small dab to a paint like consistency can be brushed over thick globby areas to smooth them, etc. It also takes very little acetone and putty, there are fewer fumes. once you're used to mixing it, it's incredibly easy to achieve really smooth results in just a coat and wash if you're in a hurry, and a couple coats with some sanding can be polished up to a nice shine.

[@theflyingnon1133]

Didn't expect a sick airbrush edit lol

[@dattisha27]

I mix my putty with iso to and lay it on with a brush and I get perfect smoothness with one sanding with 220 and dries really fast it’s great for those tough to reach spots also

[@jtms1200]

just a tip for anyone in the city: wood filler + water works pretty well also and is indoor friendly and sands really really nicely

[@bowl7559]

Don't forget to use ipa instead if the wood filler is waterproof or something like that

[@krzysztofmathews738]

This looks like a very useful process. I've used the glazing putty just straight from the tube, but it seems that the mixed putty/acetone would help me get a better application. Thank you!

[@DaveRigDesign]

I’ve also used it straight out of the tube and found it’s a lot of work to spread around. Thinning it makes the process much easier.

[@GregHagan-u6c]

I've been using the quick dry spackle and water. Then sanding and works pretty well, but ilike the smoothness you achieved

[@DaveRigDesign]

Do you find the spackle holds up well? Doesn’t crack or chip off?

[@WARPAINTandUnicorns]

The lines are there and it's not an optical illusion. I have the same issue with resin casting and sanding bucks. It feels smooth to the touch because your fingers can't detect the highs and lows anymore. But as soon as you cast it you can see it wasn't polished enough. For me it's usually frost finish on the surface, but in this case it's the subtle valleys not getting 100% filled and sanded out. In this case 1 more layer of fill spray or more putty at the start would have leveled it out more. Never thought to mix acetone with this putty. 👍 For my resin molding... got to mirror polish it more. lol

[@DaveRigDesign]

Ya another coat of putty would have done it but that drying time. I can probably wet sand the clear coat and give it a few more layers of clear to get it smooth. Will still see the lines in the colour underneath though even though the light reflections will be smooth

[@MSWindman]

I use resin and cornstarch to hide lines. This looks like more work.

[@LowBudgetGenius1]

Should I still put the hardener stuff in with the bondo and acetone???

[@DaveRigDesign]

Bondo is different than glazing putty. I don’t know if you can thin bondo with acetone. I think you can but I haven’t tried. You’ll have to google that and see.

[@HiTechMom]

Great video.

[@DaveRigDesign]

Thanks 🙏

[@eruiluvatar236]

I wonder if a saturated abs or polystyrene solution in acetone painted over pla would work. Maybe even if it doesn't by just painting, a second step of vapor smoothing could make it smooth. I don't have abs or expanded polistyrene right now but I do have acetone and high density polystyrene cutlery so I will try and report back. If the cutlery doesn't disolver well enough, I will get some expanded polystyrene that I know does disolve really well.

[@eruiluvatar236]

It worked quite well with ABS, no further smoothing needed, just dunk, dry and it is smooth. However I used ABS from a cdrom unit door that has calcium carbonate as a filler that just precipitated so the resulting solution deposits a transparent layer. It is smooth to the touch but with a good look you can see the lines through the transparent layer. I will get some 3d printing ABS hopefully with an acetone soluble pigment but even as it, it is great when painted. It did not work well with polystyrene as not enough goes into solution and it mostly stays as a goop in the bottom plus the deposited material is not strong or that well adhered so it can be scratched off.

[@DaveRigDesign]

It’s an interesting idea. Are you using pla prints or abs?

[@eruiluvatar236]

@@DaveRigDesign PLA of course. I don't even have ABS filament so I scavenged for ABS and found an old cdrom tray made of ABS for the experiment. I will be getting some ABS filament specifically to do this even if I am not really interested in printing it (I don't have an enclosure or a way to deal with the fumes).

[@nicksmith1415]

I find it a lot quicker with UV resin too. Will you use the slurry method in future or go back to UV?

[@DaveRigDesign]

I’ll probably stick with UV if I’m trying to smooth the part and us try if I want a textured surface

[@nicksmith1415]

@@DaveRigDesign thanks

[@nate316]

Are there alternative puttys that can be used? I don’t mind the price but paying the $20 shipping for that product to Canada sucks.

[@DaveRigDesign]

There should be a link in the description for Amazon in Canada. Bondo makes the same product. I know you can get that on Amazon.ca or go pick it up at any Canadian tire.

[@hippiemcfake6364]

Given all the effort put into the post processing, have you considered printing at a lower layer height? Especially for slopes.

[@knifeyonline]

hehe, just clicking the variable layer height button would do 90% 😆👍

[@DaveRigDesign]

That’s great until you print a complex shape or something big

[@Red_Rubber_Duck]

So which is better, resin baby powder or putty?

[@DaveRigDesign]

I would say, for small spot fills where you don’t mind waiting for it to dry putty would be more convenient. For anything bigger resin is easier/faster to apply and faster drying.

[@Red_Rubber_Duck]

@DaveRigDesign if I want to smooth a circle, i feel like pouring ALOT of resin on top will save me time vs applying thin layers with a brush. What do you think? Like instead of painting on half a cup like you do in your videos, pouring 4 cups on top of idk half dried thick and slow resin.

[@DaveRigDesign]

@Red_Rubber_Duck if it’s flat ya you can just pour it in and let if self level

[@alfrednorris1895]

Will it take a rattle can?

[@DaveRigDesign]

You mean a spray paint can instead of air brush? Yup.

[@rfisher79]

Maybe try Acetone Vapor Polishing?

[@DaveRigDesign]

That only work with ABS plastic.

[@usersony112]

great music!

[@DaveRigDesign]

Thanks :)

[@91Caesar]

Would it be possible to get a copy of your test dome STL?

[@DaveRigDesign]

It's just a sphere I cut in 1/2. You can create it right in the slicer and print at .3 layer height.

[@PaulDominguez]

I wonder how this would work on ABS

[@DaveRigDesign]

Should be the same.

[@DiceZer0]

I like this idea, my issue is, when I have a print I would like smoother, it has way too much detail for this method, but I need to print me a Dwarven Sword for cosplay, and I may try this method, Thanks Bro!

[@DaveRigDesign]

Ya, works great for large smooth areas. Can work for detail also, you just spend a lot of time cleaning up the details. Up side is it’s easy to sand off

[@PikachusGift]

I tried this on about 10 of my prints and painted over them. The bondo spot putty cracked big time.

[@DaveRigDesign]

It can if the part has any flex or the holes you are filling are too big

[@PikachusGift]

@@DaveRigDesign the cracking happened on a large surface area of layer lines, no holes and no flex to the part.

[@DaveRigDesign]

@PikachusGift not sure…. could be due to how thick it was applied. Maybe wasn’t totally dry before you painted? Once dry it’s shouldn’t shrink.

[@PikachusGift]

@@DaveRigDesign I let it dry for a few days. It was so weird. I've had it happen on a few prints but not others.

[@nugooya]

I use the acetone + putty combo too but I use very thin layers. Dry quicker and I havnt had any cracking problems.

[@rajashekharvarad3554]

0.2 layer, hope it reduces paint time

[@DaveRigDesign]

The increase of 33% print time doesn’t offset the paint time as you still need to fill and sand.

[@梁先生-r7w]

Or UV method is more convenient ~

[@andyb7754]

Interesting video but I see a few flaws. Gloves are a must because no matter how clean you think your hands are they still have oils on them. Never saw you clean with anything before sanding and before the putty. Hey, it's just a 3D print but don't do that when repairing a car or anything like that (could cause paint lifting). Good luck.

[@DaveRigDesign]

I suppose, but I painted cars back when the only people that wore gloves were medical professionals and things worked out fine. Just don't eat chicken wings or Cheetos while working and you should be fine :)

[@theputnamto3468]

Unless your metal plating the print, then just having skin is enough to ruin it. But you can get a near mirror surface​@@DaveRigDesign

[@1Spacecore]

Dude, your drying time is too long because you're not adding enough acetone! The consistency of the acetone-bondo mix should be more like Tabasco sauce, not like honey. Watch this guy for reference: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nX66mGykbLp6i6M

[@toosas]

that fingernail drag caught me offguard. ughhhhh shudder

[@DaveRigDesign]

It’s not like it’s a chalk board :)