Welcome to Regular Mike’s 3D printing and high finishing process. It’s quick, simple and churns out some high-end parts. Additional content - making 3D prints stronger.
Step 1 - Buys some stuff, specifically this stuff. Also add 800 and 1200 grit wet dry sandpaper.
Step 2 - Churn out some high-quality 3D prints. I run a fully enclosed 3D printing setup that’s temperature-controlled, I try to keep things at about 25 – 30 C. Here are some of my favorite printer settings.
• Initial Layer Height 0.3
• Layer Height 0.2
• Wall Thickness 1.4
• Wall Line Count 5
• Top and Bottom Layers 8
• Top and Bottom thickness 1.5
Step 3 - Wet sand using 800 grit paper. Don’t spend too much time here. The goal it to get rid of any high spots and blobs, if you have any. This process should only take 5 – 10 mins and be sure to wash and dry the part.
Step 4 - Apply an even coat of plastic primer and let dry
Step 5 - Apply an even coat of spray putty and let dry
Step 6 - Wet sand using 800 grit paper, don’t press down too hard and if possible, use a foam sanding block to keep the pressure even. This process should only take 5 – 10 mins and be sure to wash and dry the part.
Step 7 – Repeat step 6. You can keep on repeating step 6 as many times as you like. The more you do this the better the finish. I personally repeat step 6 twice on all my prints. If you have a component that’s messed you can use a small amount of blade putty, only a small amount as a filler. This process should only take 5 – 10 mins and be sure to wash and dry the part.
• Note: You know you’re in a good spot when a wet sanded component feels like glass when you run your finger over it.
Step 8 – Add color and let dry. I love Dupli-Color. Soo much range and the quality is top-notch.
Step 9 - Wet sand 1200 grit. Keep it light and even, this step should be quick, 5 – 10 mins, and be sure to wash and dry the part. You can also repeat this step as many times as you like to improve the result.
Step 10 - Add color and let dry again – this is the final step. Process complete.
I also do some local jobs in my area for the esk8 folks. My site has some more finished products using this process.
Adding Strength
I accidentally stumbled across a simple and neat way to waterproof and add super strength to my 3D printed battery enclosures. I once used a Dalchem Crystal Clear Epoxy Resin to see if I could skin and frit with the stuff and found that it added an increased amount of rigidity once fully cured. I decided to pour some over a 3D print as a test.
I was blown away, just 60ml of this stuff poured at the base of my battery enclosure makes it 100% watertight and increases the strength at the same time. The best part is you just swoosh it about, no brush needed. I’ll add some videos of me trying to bend and break it soon.
