Anything needed prior to painting a Shapeways item

[johnt48618]

I'm relatively new to Shapeways and just purchased 4 spherical tanks from Ngineer. They are described as made from "Smooth Fine Detailed Plastic". Do these need to be soaked in Bestine or some such product? I plan to wash them in soapy water and primer them before painting.

John

[Wutter]

Definitely give them a Bestine soak before painting (up to 24hrs), this will remove the waxy residue on the surface and allow for better adhesion of your paint. Also when you take the parts out and let them dry, if you see any fuzz or light roughness on the surface, you can give it a quick dry scrub with a toothbrush to smooth it out before paint.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Because it's somewhat tough depending on the part, I've found a trick for soaking parts that would require lots of Bestine.

Use a sealed glass jar and fill in around the part with marbles. This way you're not using a gallon of the stuff that's just filling up volume.

Once you're done, it's easy enough to pour the Bestine back out and keep the marbles in the jar.

Just be careful because the weight of the marbles sliding around can damage fragile parts.

[craigolio1]

Because it's somewhat tough depending on the part, I've found a trick for soaking parts that would require lots of Bestine.

Use a sealed glass jar and fill in around the part with marbles. This way you're not using a gallon of the stuff that's just filling up volume.

Once you're done, it's easy enough to pour the Bestine back out and keep the marbles in the jar.

Just be careful because the weight of the marbles sliding around can damage fragile parts.

That’s the most amazing tip I’ve heard in a long time!  Thank you !

Craig

[wazzou]

Who the hell has marbles?

[Lemosteam]

Who the hell has marbles?

LOL!

I still use my $30 ultrasonic cleaner and my parts are ready to go in 20 minutes and I only have to fill the tray with Bestine just above the parts I am cleaning.

[learmoia]

Who the hell has marbles?

Can't you get those glass balls at hobby lobby for flower arangments and stuff..?

Good idea..  ~Ian

[DKS]

Given that the Bestine is reusable (just place used solvent in a jar, and the solids will precipitate out in a week or two), it doesn't make sense to worry about how much to use.

[JanesCustomTrain]

Who the hell has marbles?

I lost mine years ago !   

Jane

[Jim Starbuck]

I use Bestine but just scrub the parts with an old toothbrush and rinse in warm water. The parts turn white immediately but don’t seem to get brittle as is my experience with soaking them overnight. I haven’t had any problems with primer adhering doing it this way.

[craigolio1]

Given that the Bestine is reusable (just place used solvent in a jar, and the solids will precipitate out in a week or two), it doesn't make sense to worry about how much to use.

Unless you don’t have enough to cover the model.

[craigolio1]

LOL!

I still use my $30 ultrasonic cleaner and my parts are ready to go in 20 minutes and I only have to fill the tray with Bestine just above the parts I am cleaning.

What do you put in you cleaner for Shapeways?

What about for cleaning a model prior to paint?

[JanesCustomTrain]

What about for cleaning a model prior to paint?

This is how I do it. Soak the model in lukewarm water with dish detergent. From now on wear gloves when touching the model and scrub the model with a soft tooth brush till foamy and clean under running lukewarm water. Dry the model with the air brush to prevent water marks. Let it rest for another 24 hours. Ready to be painted. A very good primer for shapeways models is the Vallejo grey primer 74601.

Jane 

[craigolio1]

This is how I do it. Soak the model in lukewarm water with dish detergent. From now on wear gloves when touching the model and scrub the model with a soft tooth brush till foamy and clean under running lukewarm water. Dry the model with the air brush to prevent water marks. Let it rest for another 24 hours. Ready to be painted. A very good primer for shapeways models is the Vallejo grey primer 74601.

Jane

I’m pretty much using the same process except instead of drying with the airbrush, I brush a coat of alcohol on. It mixes with the water and then all evaporated rather quickly.

However it seems when I use a tooth brush on my model I always end up removing something, and I won’t go near hand soldered handrails with one.

So I bought and ultra sonic cleaner. But I haven’t used it yet. I’d like to know what to use so that metals and such come out clean and ready for paint. Or maybe ready for a quick soak in soapy water.

[Steveruger45]

Who the hell has marbles?

I lost my marbles 😀