So can you spray paint them after applying the beeswax? That is what i'm most curious about. Since the wax add a thin layer on top of the print, i think it will be really smooth if you paint over them
Now that it's waxed and smooth, lets do a silicon mold of the mask or coffee scoop. The layer lines should me gone or very hard to see, and being able to cast a metal flake resin mask would be super cool. Oh btw, I have some jewelry casting cans that heat up to a prescribed temp, you then pressurize the can and it forces out the bubbles. This would be ideal for melting down scrap filament and casting parts.
It's basically a food safe finish instead of a chemical finish. Woodworkers who make cutting boards and butcher blocks have been using beeswax as a finish forever. It seals the pores in the wood to keep food particles from getting stuck in there and going rancid. Cool trick applying it to 3D printed objects especially kitchen gadgets. Also - I wonder if sanding (especially the higher grits) in a circular motion would help reduce the visibility of the scratches in the final product.
Another food safe finish that i have seen recommended for 3D printing is shellac. I have the tip from a Taiwanese RU-vidr but i can't remember the name.
you should retry the melted beeswax idea with a heat gun set to low (to not melt the plastic) and a brush to work the wax into the part. this same trick is often used to wax clothing for waterproofing.
@@UncleJessy I hope it's not to late for me to say: I've never tried it on plastic, and I'm not sure you can get the heat gun high enough to melt wax but low enough to not melt pla. might be easier with abs?
I've seen it where you melt the wax in a metal vessel using the hot bed of your printer set to 70-75. If the print is small enough, or the vessel + wax is large enough, I've seen where the whole print is submerged in the liquid wax vs brushing it on.
I’m still using cura but I’m slowly convincing myself to give prusa slicer a try after some files I found weren’t compatible with Cura. I’ll have to give that setting a go!
I take all my cosplay tips from automotive body guys. I like to get around 320 before primer/filler. I think the general consensus is "pay me now, or pay me later" and sandpaper is cheaper than primer/filler. It's also important to note that you shouldn't sand with anything really above 400 grit before or during the primer/filler stage or you are asking for trouble so save those higher grits for late stage finishing touches if you plan on painting. As for the beeswax, I'm not sure what you could use this for outside this one specific thing. It's got an even lower melting temp than the PLA so keep it away from hot food and drinks. One thing resin and wood filler doesn't struggle with is heat resistance, and one thing 3D print enthusiasts probably have laying around anyway is resin. Personally, I don't mind the sanding, but if I had to pick one of the 3, I'd start with resin, and even then I'd pick wood filler before beeswax. 😅
Try using the bee's wax (or petroleum jelly) on clear resin prints (after they are cleaned) to get a cheep clear coating that makes them really transparent
Try using a slow-speed buffer with a large cotton wheel (6 to 8 inches). It should remove minor scratches and give you a glass-like finish. I am not sure if it will work on PLA, but I use it on plexiglass to get the cut edges to look clean and see-through. If you sand it smooth and then buff it, in theory, it should give you a glass-like finish.
I use that black from elegoo and I was a bit disappointed at first as it was really cheap but it's stringed like crazy so I dried it and tried again and zero stringing, so I always buy it as it prints amazing and is so cheap, you can print fast with it too.
@@UncleJessy Hi UncleJessy , its the standard black pla not the + or high speed that i use although it you can print it pretty qick and here in the uk i have to deal with crazy hi humidity in the autum and spring so i basicly just dry everything now even if its stored in a bag, mabe the humidy is not to bad where you live, happy printing dude and great vidio as always.
Honestly, I like the look of the Doom mask more without the wax treatment, it looked more consistent and if I am going to sink hours into sanding, I would expect a better overall consistency than what was shown. I think in the matter of cosplay, the “look” is more important than the “feel”. Smoother doesn’t translate into better if you still see scratches and layer lines. Just saying. Thanks for all the effort you put into your videos!
Maybe when u done with wet sanding, u can blow the surface with the torch to melt the litle plastic particles, and then adding the wax maybe this could help remove the print lines at the end of the process
I've had good results with just a rough sanding (120 grit) and then rubbing some candle wax on. Remove a tea light from the aluminum cup and you can just rub the edge directly on the print, working in any chunks that come off with your fingers. Then rinse off the excess with warm water.
Seconding. Micromesh cloth is amazing, especially when used with a foam block backing so it really conforms. And you can get the stuff in *SO* many form factors. There's even velcro backed disks!
I think the visibility of the lines and scratches is more due to beeswax being transparent than anything else there. Might be interesting to see if it works for casting a print there
Your scratchmarks are there trough inconsistent sanding. As you climb up the stairs in grit, you need to be sure the marks of the previous grids are gone. Say the 400 grid needs to remove all marks from 320. If the 320 marks still are there and you go on to 600 the wond disappear anymore (yes it can with abnormal amount of sanding). And if you are arrived at 1000 the whole item needs to be one u inform Matt surface. (What wasn’t in your case). So a little more elbow grease is needed next time. 😜
This method would definetly be amazing for wood filled filaments, because layer lines already adds to the look on the prints and this method compliments it more. I would like to see spray paint on them, since its clear you cant hide layer lines visually.
Thanks for the video, very interesting process. Now I'm wondering why no one has come up with a machine that could blast sand in a small cubic space to clean any object you place within. Or maybe this kind of machine already exists, but I can't wait for an automatic process to sand down 3D-printed pieces.
I use this technique for wood table tops, I use paste wax from the hardware store its for this purpose. If you get some heat going from rubbing it, it will melt and soften the wax a bit and work it into the micro surface of the print or wood. I also haven't tried it myself but I believe you can apply Rub N Buff on top of paste wax as it is a wax based product itself, I will try that out actually and let you know.
5:16 mhmm microplastics in the nature. OK in this instance it's just PLA which is a saccharide so that's OK. Except no it's also got EVA as a masterbatch binder and maybe poly glitter flake. I'm not convinced that i would be dumping that.
you can make 3d printed resin molds, leaning up the inside surface sucks (among other issues like sealing/mating surface). Typical mold release is very thin, but beeswax may help a few things and would be a fun test.
really cool video. but I would have liked you to spray it with primer to see if we could see the layer lines. then go back to it after a few months or weeks and see if it holds up. but I guess I'll try it and see what happens myself.
The beeswax is mostly just a filler to clean up some of the smaller scratches. If you do each grit a fair bit more (maybe two or three times as much sanding) that should get rid of the majority of layer lines and scratches. It is a lot more work though. And if you go too far, sometimes you can sand through the outermost wall and then the color consistency gets ruined lol
I have not tried it out yet, but as a amateur car detailer i know a little bit about coatings: you should try out a canauber wax or synthetic car wax! The principle is the same, but they are build to fill in those scratches a little bit better than bees wax. Also buffing with a car polish or even with a electrical buffer could make the surface more even. It will be not food save afterwards, but i bet it will shine like a mirror!
For the Elegoo Galaxy filament, I noticed with galaxy purple that layer height has a noticeable effect on how the glitter looks in the final print. At very low layer heights (0.1mm), the glitter gets flattened and the top and bottom will be much more shiny than the sides. It may be worth experimenting with different layer heights to see how it affects the final result.
As a 3D printer I know sanding is a big part of the process to get the best results. As a long time printer I am surprised that you still use paper based sanding tools. I moved over to foam backed sanding sheets many years ago, when they get clogged I just stretch them out under the tap to clean them up.
as i 3d print bitter wargames items but live in a smaller home sanding its a option, thankfully several tin coats of floor varnish means i will never need to sand again, but you just need a well ventalited room and about 5 coats for a .2 print
After I wet sand my prints I like to aply a little bit of wd 40 at my hights grit sandpaper and re sand it only with the wd 40 and the sandpaper. Usually I stop at 1500. It works like a pre polish and remove some scratch marks. It makes the print look evenly mat, not glossy but not rough like you've just sanded it
Hey Jessy, Awesome vid, as always! As a guy who has done his fair share of autobody sanding, with a soft material like plastic, I think you went a bit low grit to start off. It will gouge out those deeper lines, and you'll be stuck in a loop trying to remove them. I'd start at 400, yes it's a bit more work, but the results will be worth it. Keep up the awesome work dude. 🤙
Other than smooth on resin coat for 3D print trying to finish print that show off the filament used while sealing a projects has been hard. UV/2 part resins have also been used. I hot Polymaker CosPLA to make sanding easier for me. But My hope is that we can print the cool filament colour in the future and have that as the final piece colour and finish.
Have you tried Liquitex 8916 Professional Flexible Modeling Paste Medium mixed with IPA? Brush on two coats and then it should be easier to sand. Also the modelling paste is non-toxic unlike fillers.
@@UncleJessy I saw the technique first on a Darkwing Dad video "Using liquitex to finish 3D prints" - he tested various mixes in the video and by the end found that its best to add enough IPA for it to become self levelling
This dynamically reveals the unavoidable physical effect of different layers with different traversal/cooling times resulting in slightly different shades of the filament used. Transitioning from a detailed layer with lots of short lengths between the head changing direction look different from longer uninterrupted sweeps of larger flatter areas.
I want to know if it would work on the joints of 3D printed action figures allowing them to glide and move more freely. I'm thinking it would smooth out the layer lines allowing less friction and the friction that is there would just work the beeswax into the print even more keeping it smooth and moving freely.
Probably the print speed is different in the two areas. I assume it is slower at the overhangs? The faster the print the glossier matter it gets, the more it heats the glossier.
Cool video! Definitely want to try out the raw print sanding and then spray with a high gloss finish. By the way, I printed the same Doom mask in one of your FB posts.
Interesting idea but unfortunately when it comes to painting on top of it the wax would A) reject the paint b) the paint solvents would break the wax down & it would no longer look smooth but always cool to try new tricks, might be cool for silk prints!
Cool idea! This sounds like a great idea for those who don't want to mess with Bondo or other synthetic finishes or VOCs. I guess the one concern I have is the microplastics generated from the sanding, which is kinda unfortunate as smoothing PLA with a non-sanding method typically involves some really nasty solvents. Suggestions: 1. Let us know how these prints wind up after a month or two with some wear and tear. Do they need another coat of wax every now and then? 2. Always use a double boiler when melting wax so you avoid ignition (might be unlikely, but it is used for candles, so...). It would be interesting if you could _dip_ a print in melted wax finish... 3. I'd like to see this stuff on wood-filled filament if that's still a thing that companies sell.
I used to Bees wax on my Brogues! Heat up to melt into the leather which did a fantastic job prepping them for boot polish for that mirror shine, but as for durability they would often crack after marching in them for a day so i wouldn't use this for anything like cosplay which may get knocked about here and there!
not gonna lie.. the doom mask that you sanded down and bees wax. it gives off a brushed steel look that really pops.. and that was really fun to see and would be worth to compared that work Vs a resin print to see if you can get that smooth if not smoother then resin
Melt the entire can of wax in a double-boiler, then dip the part into the melted wax. Keeping the wax hot should prevent you from having to deal with a big thick layer.
Is the color difference on the black one from the speed change with the over hang? Like if you slice it and then look at the speed over lay is it much slower with those overhangs than the other side being a straight up and down wall with no overhangs.
Can you smooth 3D prints with Nacho cheese? Can you smooth 3D prints with the necronomicon? Can you smooth 3D prints with jazz? These are the answers we need.
Won't the beeswax simply melt out of the print over time or washing if some other coating/sealant isn't used over the print? It is only wax and NOT really a permanent coating/sealant.
