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Whats the best way to polish PLA after printing

Discussion in 'Printing Filament' started by Kirk, Jun 11, 2014.

  1. Kirk

    Kirk Member

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    Just wondering if there is a good/quick way to polish PLA after you have printed your job? just to try to smooth some of the lines out or sharpen the edges?

    Many thanks
     
    #1 Kirk, Jun 11, 2014
  2. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    Sanding and some kind of sealant.

    PrintedSolid has shown you can vapor polish with MEK substitute

    I've also found that Weld-on 4 is useful for polishing PLA and is a really good glue for it as well.
     
    #2 Mike Kelly, Jun 11, 2014
  3. AutopsyTurvy

    AutopsyTurvy Active Member

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    For sanding, try using a rotary tool. A mounted stone bit, one of the cylindrical sort with the rounded end works well, held parallel to the layer lines. Then there's the bits that are like little wire brushes - one of those can be used to smooth out the cruddy bits left from the mounted stone and do some nice polishing. Just very important to keep moving as the friction generates a lot of heat and the moment you realize it's gotten too hot is also when it turns into mush and ruins the surface.
     
    #3 AutopsyTurvy, Jun 11, 2014
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  4. Peter Krska

    Peter Krska Active Member

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    I used a heat gun once to fix some prints. I heated it to 190 c and the moving over the spot back and forth till you see the filament looks wet, then with a metal screw driver I pushed in the cruddy parts and they melted together nicely.

    The secret is patience. If you crank up the heat, the part will disappear so slow and a back and forth movement over the area slowly but not stopping will prevent the part from being ruined.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    #4 Peter Krska, Jun 23, 2014
  5. B3D Filament

    B3D Filament New Member

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    #5 B3D Filament, Jul 10, 2014
  6. B3D Filament

    B3D Filament New Member

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    #6 B3D Filament, Jul 10, 2014
  7. warlocke

    warlocke Active Member

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    Sandra,
    The question you quoted was concerning polishing PLA.
    You posted a link referring to ABS and using Acetone. This process will not work on PLA.

    As far as I know, polishing PLA is tough, there are few methods that give decent results and those require a lot of effort.
     
    #7 warlocke, Jul 10, 2014
  8. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    MEK (Methyl Ethyl Keytone) is about the closest to Acetone w/ABS you can get with chemical polishing PLA.
     
    #8 mark tomlinson, Jul 10, 2014
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  9. tesseract

    tesseract Moderator
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    I agree completely Mark but the problem is where you may live(speaking in side the US right now) some areas won't sell MEK to the public. CA used to. I used to when I worked in a paint store but not recently. The only thing I have seen is as Mike mentioned above an MEK substitute Printed used.

    The problem is even they are not the same I tried one and it took so long to vaporize the overall heat began melting the prints. Where as with the acetone it is a 10-15 second process that parts never get even get warm. I wish it were the same for PLA
     
    #9 tesseract, Jul 10, 2014
  10. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Oh, I agree. It is the closest but nowhere near as safe or easy :)

    I used a wooden block to isolate the print from the MEK (substitute) while heating, but it still takes longer and (frankly) it doesn't work as well.

    I just clean and paint PLA now ... not that hard to clean, buff and paint it to look nice (but it is still more work).
    With ABS you almost got that finish for free.

    Although, I wonder if any of the other materials offer that same sort of post-processing (thinking of Nylon or PET or the like)?
    I sort of doubt it.

    edit: I bet you could make an ABS slurry and paint the object with that... I might have to try that. Got a fair amount of ABS filament just sitting there.
     
    #10 mark tomlinson, Jul 10, 2014
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  11. tesseract

    tesseract Moderator
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    Good idea had not thought about a ABS shell so to speak hmmmmmm
    I do agree the end result compared to the ABS vapor is SHOCKINGLY less at least in my experimentation any way
    Just wish there was a magic PLA solution
     
    #11 tesseract, Jul 10, 2014
  12. Peter Krska

    Peter Krska Active Member

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    I saw a video where the PLA parts were put into one of those stone polishing tumblers filled with small stones. It seemed to work on PLA!

    I don't have one but if anyone else does, please try it and let is know if it works


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk in Canada
     
    #12 Peter Krska, Jul 10, 2014
  13. Technidyne

    Technidyne Active Member

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    How bout an ABS slurry dip. Dunk the whole PLA part in the ABS/acetone slurry, remove and let dry.
     
    #13 Technidyne, Jul 25, 2014
  14. cosber

    cosber Active Member

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    Though expensive, Hydro dipping looks like a cool way to hide imperfections and dress up some types of models.
     
    #14 cosber, Jul 25, 2014
  15. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Only downside is that this may hide or obscure some detail on fine/high details prints. Otherwise, this is a really good approach.
     
    #15 mark tomlinson, Jul 25, 2014
  16. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    surprised I missed this thread...
    Acetone vapor does work reasonably well on PET. Nothing touches nylon. HIPS polishes about like ABS. Ethyl Acetate(MEK subsititute) works reasonably well for PLA. better for light colors for some reason.
    I've tried the ABS slurry dip. didn't like it.
    I've also tried dipping in a glue slurry (think candle dipping) for investment casting. Works OK.

    Spraying with filler primer and wet sanding works awesomely well if you don't mind some elbow grease.
     
    #16 Printed Solid, Jul 25, 2014
  17. BryZad

    BryZad New Member

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    I have just sanded and painted PLA i found that bondo spot putty works well to smooth out some lines in the prints.
     
    #17 BryZad, Nov 3, 2014
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