"How to smooth Shapeways White Natural Versatile Plastic?" Topic

I just received an airplane model from Shapeways printed in White Natural Versatile Plastic (the only choice).

I knew going in that the finish is grainy, but…wow.

What's the latest word about how to fix this? Or at least smooth it a bit?

The only method I've seen online is to lightly spray with primer, then gently sand with sand paper. Do this 5-6 times using gradually finer sandpaper.

Some kind of diluted filler paste perhaps?

Thanks

I just used a thin coating of white glue to smooth the surface, then painted.

Some automobile primers claim to fill in small scratches and defects, so they might work, though I worry about the loss of surface detail using these as well.

I've tried:

• sanding
  
• white glue
  
• gesso
  
• heavy clearcoat (Krylon Triple Thick Clear Glaze)
  
• Rustoleum Filler Primer

The heavy clearcoat and filler primer were suggestions I read on a Shapeways board somewhere.

Of all these, I felt the filler primer had the best results and left the most of the original lines intact. It took 2-3 coats to really reduce the texture, which also blended the lines a bit, and removed some of the details.

I also tried applying a lighter coat of the heavy clearcoat and the filler primer, and sanding it. This worked a little, but it was far too easy to accidentally remove details, and it was SO.MUCH.WORK!!! I couldn't face doing it for a whole squadron.

I just wasn't very happy with the results. I feel I've now officially Tried Everything™ and I can categorically avoid buying any more of that horrible grainy white Shapeways nylon crap.

I wish the cost of Shapeways fine detail plastic would come back down. I like the miniatures I've bought in that material. It's just completely unaffordable for any but the very tiniest objects.

- Ix

I have some success with Mr Sufacer you can paint it on and miss the detail in places.
In the end I decided why bother? At war game ranges the finish is perfectly acceptable.

The biggest problem I have with the grainy finish isn't it's appearance, but the way it makes all my painting techniques difficult or impossible – weathering, streaking, staining, shading, glossing smooth surfaces like aircraft glazing, making metal surfaces shiny, blending in decals, and on and on.

It matters less in larger scales, but my aircraft and vehicles are all 1/144 and smaller.

I tried ordering some aircraft in White Processed Natural Plastic, the white grainy stuff that's been ground or bead-blasted or something to smooth it out. The surface was indeed a bit smoother, but still grainy, and a lot of the finer details were either gone or weirdly exaggerated (e.g., some of the canopy rails had become tall ridges sticking out). I won't bother with that material again. If I want to screw up my models by sanding them badly, I can do it myself.

- Ix

After long consideration and watching others suffer, I decided that rather than pay through the nose for halfway decent prints from Shapeways, I'll buy a resin printer and do it myself.

I've toyed with the brush on, clear acrylic, nail polish/sealer. In my opinion it is a bit too thick, so needs to be thinned some, but at least you have the ability to control where you apply it, unlike many of the other materials.

I haven't tried applying the thinned stuff yet, but hope that might be a decent solution, at least for the most visible, problem areas frequently found on these.

Thus far…

Note: between each application I have lightly sanded to where the surface feels smoother than before.

1. Brush-on gloss coat. No change.
2. Two separate coats of diluted white glue. No change.
3. Thicker coat of white glue. Perhaps some improvement but not much.

It's odd -- it goes from smooth to bumpy each time like it's resetting.

4. Light coat of Tamiya Fine Surface Primer. Very little change.
5. Heavy coat of Tamiya Fine Surface Primer. Seems to be much better. Usuable. I may do a second heavy coast and call it quits.

I don't know if all of the coats and sanding accumulated into an acceptable finish or if one of two heavy coats of primer would have worked by themselves. Or if a different, thicker primer would work. But any way you look at it, it's a lot of work.

At this point I'm with Yellow Admiral -- never again!

After many coats and sanding. Luckily I had mostly flat, non -descript surfaces to work with.

This product is specifically made for this.

link

It is available through amazon.