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    Acetone smoothing

    I've seen this topic mentioned a few times under finishing, but I was wondering if I could get some more information. I've been tooling around the net but thusfar can only find information about using a vapor bath, which is great for small objects but not that helpful for my current project.

    #2
    I found this method http://www.3dprinterprices.net/how-t...oth-3d-prints/ that looks A) a lot safer and B) more likely to scale up, but I am still concerned about how this would affect a rather large, not terribly rigid model.

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      #3
      What is your current project? Is it too big for a vapor bath? Perhaps one of the paint on coating instead?

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        #4
        I have seen people mix abs and acetone in order to paint it on like Applekeith said.

        Like this guy. He is using it to bond the pieces together, but also smooths the entire model with it.

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          #5
          My model is going to top out at about 4 feet, so yes a bit too big for the vapor bath. Aside from not being able to easily find a container large enough I am also worried about getting an even distribution over that kind of surface area.

          I am at work and unable to watch a video currently, can somebody give me the basic gist of it?

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            #6
            You may have been able to watch the video by now, but he basically takes chopped up ABS, mixes with acetone until the ABS dissolves. The longer the mixture sits, the thicker it gets. He uses a brush to paint over the entire model which provides a nice even surface and also finishes filling in the small seams and makes them disappear.

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              #7
              @applekeith - my project is around 4 feet long at this point, I don't know where I can find a mason jar that big :P All joking aside, filling an area of several cubic feet with acetone vapor sounds extremely dangerous.

              As for the method that guy is using, I basically tried that myself on a series of test pieces and got pretty good results. First thing: you absolutely have to use pure acetone from the hardware store. Nailpolish remove doesn't do the trick. Also, acetone will dissolve a turkey baster.

              So here's what I have discovered: first off, acetone does have a limit of solubility, and after that the ABS will start to clump. Clumps of ABS are very bad. Personally, I got the best results by applying a thick layer of "ABS juice" using a sponge tool, then applying a thin coat of pure acetone with a brush. The results are not as good as the vapor method, but for smoothing a large model they work. The key, it seems, is to sort of dab on the chemicals so that they smooth out on their own and do not leave brush strokes.

              I am presently doing a test on two glued-together segments. Tonight I will see how well the juice smoothes over the joint and take a few pictures. I will also be doing a painting test and will post the results of that.

              Incidentally, I joined a scale model painting forum and got a lot of good advice on how to get a nice paint job. Thusfar everything I've been doing looks good on ABS, though it is hard to say how well the techniques I am trying will scale down. Personally I mostly want to make larger objects, but we shall see.

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                #8
                Nevery tried Aceton Smoothing as I mainly print in PLA. But I tried smoothing with THF, which worked quite well. I also know that coating a print with Epoxy gives a very nice and shiny surface.

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                  #9
                  Two questions: what is "THF"? And what particular epoxy do you recommend? Brand/type?

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                    #10
                    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrahydrofuran, very nasty stuff.
                    For the expoy, I have not tried it yet, but I have seen it in this video on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0TGL6Cb2KY.

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                      #11
                      There's about 20 different products in your local hardware store labeled "epoxy", another 10-15 more if you go to specialty stores. Acetone is one specific thing, but epoxy is a bit ill-defined.

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                        #12
                        Hmm...as we continue to push for larger sized prints there's probably going to be a big market for larger solutions for our finished products. I was just wondering if it may be possible to convert a bakery proofing box into an Acetone vapor smoothing chamber? Just a thought.

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                          #13
                          What you'd need(I think) is to adapt the technology combustion labs use to ensure they don't burn themselves down. Non-flamable materials, fume hoods, etc.

                          The problem is, over all I don't think vapor smoothing is the right solution for larger objects. I think if you did get something worked out, you'd end up seeing the large model bend and warp in undesired ways.

                          I got pretty good results from my wash technique(using a paintbrush) and think there is still room for improvement. I'm going to work on it more when I do my next model. I wish I'd taken some pictures of the smoothing process, but the results I'm getting were decent for a first attempt.

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