So here’s my excuse to talk about finishing PLA prints while I finish the Sailor Moon pendant.
I pretty much say it all in the video. I’ve tried MEK, tetrahydrofuran and even hardcore nail polish remover. The workbench went from smelling like a hair salon to smelling like a nail salon for a week. And after it all the only thing that made anything any smoother was XTC3D, which means hands on time with every little part you want to hide the layer lines on. But I can’t say…
Hold the phone.
I was putting together pictures of the parts I’ve tried the various smoothing techniques on and realized I didn’t have many examples of tetrahydrofuran vapor smoothed parts. So I pulled out the steamer pot, grabbed my THF, and for good measure dumped a good couple tablespoons in there, then set the heat to warm and let it go. The result was not what I expected, and certainly different than last time.
The parts are… smoother. But instead of the glossy finish that Acetone give ABS it’s more of a matte finish. It’s certainly not as smooth as acetone smoothed ABS, but it’s smoother, certainly smoother than anything else I’ve tried for PLA. Well, except XTC3D.
And that tends to pool up in places an ruin small crevasse. Not to mention needing personal attention for every single piece.
Maybe I was wrong to dismiss THF so quickly. Maybe I just needed to use a little more of it, and get used to a matte finish. I’m gonna have to shoot an update video.
