Painting 3D prints

[Warlady]

I have been given several pieces of 3D printed terrain to paint.  I've never painted 3D prints before.  Is there anything special I need to do to prep them before I apply the primer/paint?

[Inarah]

You may want to do some sanding or other surface prep, depending on the quality of the print. 

 

 

[haldir]

Yah just treat them like any other plastic miniature. The pieces I've gotten printed for me, I didn't wash them off & I just primed em like normally & everything was fine. I did paint a brown color pieces (like boats & doors) with just a color wash & they turned out great as well.

 

[GreenBeams]

i found that adding a thin coat of primer and then wet sanding removed the PLA stacking lines. Actually, doing that a couple of times got a nice smooth finish.  

[Glitterwolf]

Depends on the material used.

I painted a Krentz 3D painted Dino I got from Shapeways.

It was kinda soaking up the paint, so i sealed it with brush on sealer and then painted it like normal.

[Arc 724]

I'm heard that sanding and general prep work, then put down a layer of semi-gloss sealant very much helps. I have not tired it but I will if/when I ever paint a 3D miniature again. 

 

I have not been impressed by 3d printing, yet. 

[Al Capwn]

 

19 hours ago, Warlady said:

Is there anything special I need to do to prep them before I apply the primer/paint?

 

Depends on the material and how much prep you want to put into terrain. Most FDM produced pieces will have visible layer lines. You can opt to sand, use a sealer (such as an epoxy), use a filling primer + sanding. Basically any means to conceal these layer lines. You can also choose to more-or-less ignore them, but certain techniques, chiefly drybrushing and washing to a lesser extent, can prove to be problematic. For ABS, you can "vapor smooth" the piece using acetone - but this is a careful dance since you are effectively melting the ABS layers, so too long and you begin to melt details.

 

4 hours ago, Arc 724 said:

I have not been impressed by 3d printing, yet. 

 

To be fair, I would surmise you haven't been impressed with FDM 3D printing. Resin based printers are frequently used to produce miniatures. Different technologies for different applications. Folks who use FDM printers to produce miniatures are frequently left with sub-par results. Though there are rare exceptions to the rule when using very fine nozzle sizes, or specific printer settings to yield better results. Recent developments in the technology have lowered the barrier to entry to resin printers significantly, to the point where individual sculptors can afford an AnyCubic Photon/Maker Select/Wanhao to produce very acceptable prototypes. The biggest cons are the relatively small build chamber, mess and fumes, and significantly increased cost of materials when compared to FDM.

Edited October 30, 2018 by Al Capwn

[Warlady]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone!

[Glitterwolf]

18 hours ago, Arc 724 said:

I'm heard that sanding and general prep work, then put down a layer of semi-gloss sealant very much helps. I have not tired it but I will if/when I ever paint a 3D miniature again. 

 

I have not been impressed by 3d printing, yet. 

 

Depends on the printer and the material used.

The 3D Dino I was talking about didn't need sanding, only sealer.

It is a high quality print well detailed, only thing is that it is hollow and therefore brittle.

Since I paint for display it suits me, but for wargaming it won't be sturdy enough.

Still, great quality.

 

Here is the Dino ( The riders are metal minis,)

 

 

http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/71546-dinoriders-by-glitterwolf-giganotosaurus-amazone-and-conquistadore/#entry1461769

[Arc 724]

4 hours ago, Glitterwolf said:

 

Depends on the printer and the material used.

The 3D Dino I was talking about didn't need sanding, only sealer.

It is a high quality print well detailed, only thing is that it is hollow and therefore brittle.

Since I paint for display it suits me, but for wargaming it won't be sturdy enough.

Still, great quality.

 

Here is the Dino ( The riders are metal minis,)

 

 

http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/71546-dinoriders-by-glitterwolf-giganotosaurus-amazone-and-conquistadore/#entry1461769

That is a good looking Dino. 

 

19 hours ago, Al Capwn said:

 

To be fair, I would surmise you haven't been impressed with FDM 3D printing. Resin based printers are frequently used to produce miniatures. Different technologies for different applications. Folks who use FDM printers to produce miniatures are frequently left with sub-par results. Though there are rare exceptions to the rule when using very fine nozzle sizes, or specific printer settings to yield better results. Recent developments in the technology have lowered the barrier to entry to resin printers significantly, to the point where individual sculptors can afford an AnyCubic Photon/Maker Select/Wanhao to produce very acceptable prototypes. The biggest cons are the relatively small build chamber, mess and fumes, and significantly increased cost of materials when compared to FDM.

 

You are right about that. I always give a KS or a seller in general a look over.

 

 

[Warlady]

In the end, I cleaned the pieces up as best I could - since they were hollow, the were a little fragile - then did a coat of satin sealer to help smooth them out, and a heavy coat of primer.  They actually turned out pretty well.