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Originally Posted by teflonrocketry1
Scott,
I am no longer using PLA filament for my 3D prints; instead I am using ABS which I find to be less brittle and much more heat and warp resistant. ABS, at least in my experience, is much easier to sand smooth than PLA and accepts paint and glues made for plastics well. The attached picture is is of some ABS parts that I recently printed. I am trying to clone an Estes Geo Sat LV. I got the files for these 3D plastic parts from Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:440953
The key to printing with ABS was to use the right extruder temperature, I had to do a lot of trial and error runs before I found the ABS plastic's optimal print temperature. Note that I do not have an enclosed printer as is generally reccomended for ABS filament. I also haven't had any issues with the ABS filaments picking up moisture. I am using both Hatchbox and Solutech brand ABS filaments and have got great 3D print results with both of them.
Have you tried 3D printing with ABS filament? I am interested in hearing your thoughts and experiences with filaments other than PLA. |
Bruce, I have a few questions concerning gluing, prepping, and painting 3D printed ABS plastic parts, which I have included below. (I have arranged them in such a format that they could be reproduced--as an informational "Sticky" here on YORF, if Scott so desires--in a simple 'question-and-answer' FAQ form, following any editing that he sees fit to conduct). They are as follows:
Which type or types of plastic model cement would you recommend for gluing ABS plastic parts--including 3D printed ones--in the following situations:
[1] ABS-to-ABS?
[2] ABS-to-polystyrene?
[3] ABS-to-paper (as in gluing a 3D printed ABS fin unit--or fin can--into, or onto, a Kraft paper body tube)? Also:
I have read (in G. Harry Stine's "Handbook of Model Rocketry," if memory serves) that the MEK--Methyl-Ethyl-Ketone--type liquid plastic cement (such as Testors's), and also the "tube-type" (Toluene-containing) plastic cement (such as Testors's, Pactra's, etc.), work well for plastic-to-plastic joints involving ABS and/or polystyrene parts, and that:
The "tube-type" (Toluene-containing) plastic model cement produces strong ABS-to-paper (and polystyrene-to-paper) joints, especially if [1] the paper bonding surface is lightly sanded, and [2] the plastic part's bonding surface is sanded with coarse sandpaper (or sanding film)--and/or is scored with a knife or a single-edged razor blade--before the "tube-type" cement is applied. It was recommended--for plastic-to-paper joints--that the cement be applied ^only^ to the plastic part's bonding surface (unless the to-be-glued plastic surface will be *inside* the paper part, such as a body tube), which is allowed so soften a bit before the two parts are pressed together, so that the plastic cement/plastic part "bridge" will soak into the paper somewhat, to bind them together. As well:
I realize that epoxy, polyurethane, cyanoacrylate, and contact cements (and even "model airplane glue" [balsa cement, which will even bond some plastics surprisingly well]) are also available. But more readily available, safer (if used with ample ventilation) hobby glues that will work with ABS, polystyrene, and paper particularly interest me (with white glue [PVA white glue doesn't age like Elmer's:
www.thesawguy.com/what-is-pva-glue/ ] and yellow wood glue being, of course, great for paper and wood bonds), because kids can use them safely--with appropriate instruction, of course--and because some of the more specialty-type cements cause chest tightness and shortness of breath when I use them. Plus, regarding painting 3D printed ABS plastic parts:
[A] What sandpaper (and/or sanding film) grade(s) and method(s) would you recommend for 3D printed ABS plastic parts? (In my experience--but with polystyrene, not ABS--one uses extra-fine grade, or fine grade [or medium grade, followed by fine or extra-fine grade, if a kit's injection-molded or vacu-formed polystyrene parts are of mediocre surface quality], then washes off the 'plastic dust' with soap & water, or perhaps with rubbing alcohol, then lets the parts dry before proceeding with primer-ing [if necessary, depending on the parts' molded-in color or colors] and/or painting.) This leads to:
[B] Which--
*IF* one method ^always^ produces qualitatively better results than the other (not just faster or easier results)--painting method is better for 3D printed ABS parts, brush painting, or spray painting (using spray cans or an airbrush)? Spray painting, using either method (spray cans or an airbrush), is definitely faster than brush painting, but brush painting can be done safely indoors without ventilation, such as on winter days (if water-based acrylic paint is used). Brush painting is also not uncommonly easier, when small--and especially, very tiny--detail parts must be painted different colors than the surrounding parts or areas; doing this via masking and spray painting would be much harder, and:
According to multiple books (including G. Harry Stine's "Handbook of Model Rocketry"), acrylic paints (such as those made by Floquil, Tamiya, Testors, etc.) are water-based, can be thinned with water, don't smell, dry to a hard finish, don't yellow with age, and don't leave brush marks if applied with a brush. They can be applied using either a brush or an airbrush (which can be powered by aerosol-type pressurized propellant cans, a larger carbon dioxide cylinder [used with a pressure regulator], a garage- or hobby-type air compressor, or--with some airbrush models--even a tank-type vacuum cleaner [with the airbrush being connected to the airflow-output end]), and:
Because acrylic paint is water-based and can be thinned with water, (hand) brushes and airbrushes that are used to apply it to models are easy to clean. This makes changing paint colors when necessary, and cleaning up the brushes before putting them away, much simpler tasks. These listed advantages lead to the following two acrylic paint-related questions:
[C] Do the aforementioned advantages of acrylic paints--applied via brush and/or airbrush--also apply to 3D printed plastic parts?
[D] If so, do clear acrylic paints go over cured colored acrylic paints (and/or over applied-and-dried water-transfer and/or "crack-and-peel" decals), without "fogging" and/or yellowing such paints and/or decals? Also, regarding paints:
[E] Do enamel, lacquer, polyurethane, and/or epoxy paint(s) go over 3D printed ABS plastic parts well, and if so, do their clear variants go over the colored (dried-and-cured) ones? In addition:
It has been "a few paint chemistry generations" since I last used enamel or lacquer paints in spray cans (judging by the discussions about the newer formulations that I've read here on YORF, the new stuff doesn't sound like it's better than the old, thanks to the EPA...), but I recall a few general tips that may still apply:
Enamel can be sprayed over dried-and-cured lacquer, but doing the opposite--even if the enamel "undercoat" is dry--will result in a crazed, crinkle finish. All plastic parts (except cast polyurethane and epoxy ones, which require lacquer paints [and polyurethane, epoxy, or contact cements for bonding purposes]) must *only* be painted with enamel paints (acrylic paints will also work on non-polyurethane, non-epoxy plastics, I
*think* [at the very worst--if I'm wrong--the acrylic paint just won't stick to ABS or polystyrene plastic]), BUT:
Lacquer spray paint ^can^ be used on polystyrene--and possibly also ABS--plastic parts, *if* the first coat of lacquer is just a light "dusting," and is allowed to dry thoroughly before more spray paint--either lacquer or (preferably) enamel--is applied. The initial, 'dusted-on' lacquer coat softens and "bites into" the very uppermost surface of the plastic, which causes the next coat of paint to cling tenaciously to the lacquer undercoat. While the subsequent coats of paint ^can^ be lacquer, they must to applied in many, very light coats--which must all be allowed to dry thoroughly before the next coat is sprayed on--in order to avoid melting the plastic, and this takes a long time. Unless one is building a museum, international-level scale competition, or movie miniature model, it's just as well--not to mention quicker--to use enamel coats applied over the initial lacquer undercoat.
I hope this information will be helpful, and many thanks in advance for your help!