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PLA Clear Filament

Discussion in 'Printing Filament' started by Ron W, Apr 30, 2015.

  1. Ron W

    Ron W Member

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    Is there a clear filament that is transparent enough that if 1 side is painted, the other side would look the same color as the paint? All the prints I see look like a cloudy semi-clear plastic.

    Basically I'm wanting a box that can be painted on the inside, so if the outside get's scratched, the paint doesn't come off. Need several different colors, so printing each one in the right color isn't realistic.

    Thanks in advance, Ron
     
    #1 Ron W, Apr 30, 2015
  2. Stephen Capistron

    Stephen Capistron Active Member

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    Not that I am aware of with PLA. A number of other materials are offered in clear. Most notable PET and its relatives (PET+, XT, PETG, ...). I can't comment on how well these take to paint though.

    https://www.printedsolid.com/shop/175-3/xtclear/

    @PrintedSolid is the filament material expert around these parts.
     
    #2 Stephen Capistron, Apr 30, 2015
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  3. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    XT + the XTC-3D coating is really, really clear...
     
    #3 mark tomlinson, Apr 30, 2015
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  4. Stephen Capistron

    Stephen Capistron Active Member

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    #4 Stephen Capistron, Apr 30, 2015
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  5. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    Yeah, I think if you go with a clear filament, print with the right settings, and clear coat the outside similar to the XTC-3D suggestion, you might achieve your goal. Another option would be to just print in whatever, paint the outside and clear over that like you would with a car.

    IMO, right now, Taulman is offering the most transparent filaments. T-glase is good. The new PLAdium is the first clear, non-yellowed PLA filament. XT is a good choice as well if you're also going for strength, but t-glase is a bit more clear (unless you can get your hands on XT manufactured before 2-14, that stuff was awesome).

    FYI, Today is the last day of our 15% off sale on PLAdium, 910, and white t-glase so it's a good time to try it.
     
    #5 Printed Solid, Apr 30, 2015
  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Crap! Thanks for reminder...
     
    #6 mark tomlinson, Apr 30, 2015
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  7. Stephen Capistron

    Stephen Capistron Active Member

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    Do you know what changed with the XT?
     
    #7 Stephen Capistron, Apr 30, 2015
  8. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    They didn't start marketing it as Amphora until the opaque colors came out in the fall, but that was when they switched over to the Amphora material. Amphora is stronger, higher temperature, and available in the range of opaque colors (which is not a simple thing for PET). It also has a higher melt strength, so you get better bridging, but it can cause some weirdness with infill if you print too fast. It also doesn't seem to handle really thin features as well. I like the Amphora material for structural parts, but the old XT was just so easy to print with.
     
    #8 Printed Solid, Apr 30, 2015
  9. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    This is some of the In-PLA (formerly known as PLAdium). The clear variety.


    Really clear, probably almost as clear as T-Glase.

    This is right off printer with no post-processing. I use a 0.8mm nozzle and 0.4mm layers (by default) and used the suggested 210c nozzle temp.
    20150505_171824[1].jpg
     
    #9 mark tomlinson, May 5, 2015
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  10. Droid

    Droid Member

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    I bought some cheap clear PLA from FRY's and it comes out almost as clear as that using a .4 nozzle at .2 layer height
     
    #10 Droid, May 6, 2015
  11. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    The clear is just cool, the material properties on the In-PLA is what makes it nice.
     
    #11 mark tomlinson, May 6, 2015

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