1<!doctype html> 2<html lang="en" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Article"> 3<head> 4 <meta charset="utf-8"> 5 <title>Post-processing 3D printed parts - Leandro Linares</title> 6 <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width"> 7 <meta name="theme-color" content="#fff"> 8 <meta name="description" content="I glued, smoothed, and painted this 3D printed Tesla Roadster 1/8 scale model."> 9 10 <link rel="icon" href="/favicon.gif"> 11 <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/apple-touch-icon.png"> 12 <link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.json"> 13 <link rel="alternate" href="/feed.xml" type="application/rss+xml" title="Leandro Linares"> 14 <link rel="stylesheet" href="/styles.css"> 15 <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/lite-yt-embed.css"> 16 <link rel="canonical" href="https://leandrolinares.com/blog/post-processing-3d-prints/"> 17 18 <meta itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" content="https://leandrolinares.com/blog/post-processing-3d-prints/"> 19 <meta itemprop="inLanguage" content="en"> 20 <meta itemprop="image" content="https://leandrolinares.com/blog/post-processing-3d-prints/hero.jpg"> 21 <meta name="twitter:site" content="@lean8086"> 22 <meta name="twitter:url" content="https://leandrolinares.com/blog/post-processing-3d-prints/"> 23 <meta name="twitter:title" content="Post-processing 3D printed parts"> 24 <meta name="twitter:description" content="I glued, smoothed, and painted this 3D printed Tesla Roadster 1/8 scale model."> 25 <meta name="twitter:creator" content="@lean8086"> 26 <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"> 27 <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://leandrolinares.com/blog/post-processing-3d-prints/hero.jpg"> 28 <meta property="og:title" content="Post-processing 3D printed parts"> 29 <meta property="og:type" content="article"> 30 <meta property="og:url" content="https://leandrolinares.com/blog/post-processing-3d-prints/"> 31 <meta property="og:description" content="I glued, smoothed, and painted this 3D printed Tesla Roadster 1/8 scale model."> 32 <meta property="og:site_name" content="Leandro Linares"> 33 <meta property="og:image" content="https://leandrolinares.com/blog/post-processing-3d-prints/hero.jpg"> 34</head> 35 36<body> 37 <header class="header" role="banner"> 38 <a class="header__logo pixelated" href="/">Leandro's Web Site</a> 39 </header> 40 41 <header class="entry-head"> 42 <img class="entry-head__image pixelated" src="/blog/post-processing-3d-prints/post-processing-icon.gif" itemprop="image" alt="An icon representing a smoothed 3D printed surface" width="44" height="64"> 43 <h1 class="entry-head__headline" itemprop="headline">Post-processing 3D printed parts</h1> 44 <p class="entry-head__details"><time itemprop="dateCreated" datetime="2020-11-29">November 29, 2020</time> by <a href="/" itemprop="author">Leandro Linares</a></p> 45 <meta itemprop="description" content="I glued, smoothed, and painted this 3D printed Tesla Roadster 1/8 scale model."> 46 </header> 47 48 <section class="entry-body" itemprop="articleBody"> 49 <img src="/blog/post-processing-3d-prints/hero.jpg" alt="A finished scale model of a Tesla Roadster"/> 50 51 <p>3D printed parts are often rough and uneven, and I found the perfect project <strong>to learn as much as possible about how to post-process them</strong>.</p> 52 53 <p>
53I chose the new version of the Tesla Roadster and found two 3D printable models:</p> 54 55 <ol> 56 <li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3584042" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Roadster by Shadowcraft_Designs on Thingiverse</a></li> 57 <li><a href="https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/art/tesla-roadster-2020-3d-model-for-3d-printing-stl-files" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Roadster by SIM3D_ on Cults3D</a></li> 58 </ol> 59 60 <p>While the first one is free, <strong>it lacks details</strong> like the form of the front lights, the softness of the angles of the car, the rims, among others.</p> 61 62 <p>The second one is paid and <strong>was not made to be printed</strong>, but it has every little detail of the original car.</p> 63 64 <p><strong>Both are perfect models and both have some cons, but because I wanted to print the car as big as possible, I went with the one with more details.</strong></p> 65 66 <h2 id="part-1">Glue</h2> 67 68 <p>The first step of building it was <strong>bonding all the 3D printed parts together</strong>.</p> 69 70 <lite-youtube videoid="zVc5Vs85uWw" style="background-image: url('https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zVc5Vs85uWw/maxresdefault.jpg');"> 71 <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=zVc5Vs85uWw" class="lyt-playbtn" title="Play Video"> 72 <span class="lyt-visually-hidden">Play Video: Gluing a 3D Printed TESLA ROADSTER</span> 73 </a> 74 </lite-youtube> 75 76 <p>I used aggressive <strong>60-grit sandpaper</strong> to prepare the surface and <strong>fast-dry epoxy glue with a hardener</strong> to join the parts. Then I cleaned up the excess of glue using <strong>isopropyl alcohol (IPA)</strong> to prepare the car for the next step.</p> 77 78 <p><strong>Materials (with affiliate links):</strong></p> 79 80 <ul> 81 <li><a href="https://amzn.to/33gAEpq" target="_blank" rel="noopener">60-grit sandpaper</a></li> 82 <li><a href="https://amzn.to/3jjeybF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2 part epoxy glue</a></li> 83 <li><a href="https://amzn.to/36pxDoK" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA)</a></li> 84 <li>Filament: Prusament PLA in Galaxy Black, Azure Blue, and Lipstick Red.</li> 85 </ul> 86 87 <h2 id="part-2">Sanding and Puttying</h2> 88 89 <p>Preparing a 3D printed model to paint is a very long process. I sanded it using <strong>5 different grits progressively</strong> and then repeated the process after applying <strong>glazing and spray putty</strong>.</p> 90 91 <lite-youtube videoid="opyK8X4zyV4" style="background-image: url('https://i.ytimg.com/vi/opyK8X4zyV4/maxresdefault.jpg');"> 92 <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=opyK8X4zyV4" class="lyt-playbtn" title="Play Video"> 93 <span class="lyt-visually-hidden">Play Video: Sanding a 3D Printed TESLA ROADSTER</span> 94 </a> 95 </lite-youtube> 96 97 <p><strong>Materials (with affiliate links):</strong></p> 98 99 <ul> 100 <li><a href="https://amzn.to/33iOqrO" target="_blank" rel="noopener">80, 120, 240, 400, and 1000 grit sandpaper</a></li> 101 <li><a href="https://amzn.to/3jlQKnj" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Glazing putty (Bondo)</a></li> 102 <li><a href="https://amzn.to/33gCKWk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spray putty</a></li> 103 </ul> 104 105 <p><strong>Process:</strong></p> 106 107 <ol> 108 <li>Dry sand using <strong>80, 120, and 240 grit sandpaper</strong>.</li> 109 <li>Wet sand using <strong>400 and 1000 grit sandpaper</strong>.</li> 110 <li>Apply <strong>glazing putty (Bondo)</strong> to the most uneven parts.</li> 111 <li>Wet sand again using <strong>400 and 1000 grit sandpapers</strong>.</li> 112 <li>Apply <strong>spray putty, wet sanding with 1000 grit sandpaper</strong> between coats.</li> 113 </ol> 114 115 <h2 id="part-3">Painting</h2> 116 117 <p>Although I thought it was gonna be a quick project, <strong>it took me months to finish</strong>.</p> 118 119 <lite-youtube videoid="pg29m_UMMhU" style="background-image: url('https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pg29m_UMMhU/maxresdefault.jpg');"> 120 <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=pg29m_UMMhU" class="lyt-playbtn" title="Play Video"> 121 <span class="lyt-visually-hidden">Play Video: Spray Painting a 3D Printed TESLA ROADSTER</span> 122 </a> 123 </lite-youtube> 124 125 <p>
125I spray painted it with <strong>two coats of white primer</strong>. Then, I applied <strong>3 coats of metallic red</strong> and immediately sprayed the <strong>2-layers clear coat</strong>.</p> 126 127 <p>The windows were painted with <strong>glossy black and a clear coat as well to get more shine</strong>. The bottom of the car and some details were <strong>painted by hand with matte black</strong>. Everything was put together with super glue.</p> 128 129 <p><strong>Materials (with affiliate links):</strong></p> 130 131 <ul> 132 <li><a href="https://amzn.to/3noGrAG" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White primer</a></li> 133 <li>Metallic red: Dupli-Color Auto Color code 50-0170</li> 134 <li><a href="https://amzn.to/35scedH" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Red paint for calipers</a></li> 135 <li>Clear coat: 2-Layer Clear Varnish Automotive Spray Paint</li> 136 <li><a href="https://amzn.to/35xoKZE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Super Glue</a></li> 137 </ul> 138 139 <h2>Conclusion</h2> 140 141 <p>The main purpose of this print was to <strong>learn to post-process 3D printed parts, but it evolved to also understand the constraints of printing a 3D model that was not created to be printed</strong>.</p> 142 143 <p>Although this is an extremely <strong>high-quality and beautiful 3D model, it needs extra work to be 3D printable</strong>. For example, all the windows and lights were <strong>printed 1% to 5% smaller than the originally intended size because otherwise, they don't fit</strong>.</p> 144 145 <p><strong>The parts needed a gutter between them, and these were exact to the millimeter</strong> which is not accurate on physical objects. The same with the wheels and brakes: I drilled the holes to be <strong>1mm wider to fit everything together</strong>.</p> 146 </section> 147 148 <footer class="footer" role="contentinfo"><a href="/">Leandro Linares</a></footer> 149
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