Build Your Own SLA/SLS

Hi all. I've been searching and can't seem to find any info on painting light-cured resin parts. Does anyone know if any and what sorts of paints work well on the different makerjuice or similar resin parts?

Cheers,
Andrew.

hi,

for example please check this link:
http://www.miicraft.com/news/moai/

cheers,
hp

Thanks for the response. Do you know what paint types will or won't work with the resins, and any difference for the different resin types?
I guess using a standard automotive primer like they do with a lot of the ABS miniatures would allow anything to work, but was wondering what has been tried.

Cheers,
Andrew.

Hi Andrew,

This is my first post on this forum. I'm very new to SLA printers, but am interested in building one. I have a passion for miniature painting; this is what I will be using an SLA printer to make (digitally sculpt and print my own miniatures). As to the topic of what paint to use, it depends on several factors.


The base
There are mainly three types of paints commonly used in our daily lives; namely, oil based, water based, and lacquer (cellulose [automotive spray cans]) based. I have never worked with UV curing resin before, but I'd imagine that it would have similar tolerance to casting resins. If this was the case, you could use all of the above mentioned types of paints, since none of them will eat into the resin.

The application of the pain/the finished texture
If you just want to give the model a spray to have one colour, rattle can paint is probably the easiest method. Alternatively, you could also use the hobby grade lacquer paint (Mr.Color brands) if you want. It is recommended that you use a spray can or airbrush to apply lacquer paint; brushing on could yield uneven surfaces. If brushing different colours on top of each other, the bottom colour will get dissolved out (the thinner will always dissolve lacquer paint regardless of how long you've allowed it to dry)

Oil based will need to be applied with a brush, since they are often supplied in tubes. A smooth surface can be yielded depending on you technique. I don't have much experience with oil, because they are harder to clean up and takes ~4 days for a touch dry and about 6 months for a complete dry. If you want to use oil, go with artist grade stuff; they have more pigment and less filler material.

Water based is probably the best place to be if you want to use hand brushing (in the case that the thing you want to paint is small and has a lot of details i.e. a miniature). There are many brands available Vallejo is probably the best brand in terms of value for money, availability, and ease of use. You could also use other miniature paints like Reaper, Army painter, Citadel paint, P3 Paint etc. Depending your desire surface finish, I also recommend another brand, Jo Sonja acrylic. These are artist grade paint. They produce a matte finish and also cheaper than the miniature paints. The only difference is that the paint layer thickness vs opacity ratio is slightly less than the miniature paint. I.e. if you want to have the same amount of covering, you will need to have a thicker coat than the aforementioned miniature paint. This wouldn't be too much problem if the object you are painting doesn't have much detail or isn't very small (Thick layers of paint can obscure a lot of details on a small miniature).

I think that should be enough to get you started on painting. If there's anything else you would like to know, just let me know.

Best regards,
Shawn

Also forgotten to mention...

Like you previously stated, also apply a primer onto the model. White, gray, or black, depending on what colour your finished piece is going to have. If you want to paint something yellow, use white primer for a bright yellow. Black will produce a darker yellow, and you will need many more coats of yellow to make it appear yellow....

Primers are often the automotive types. You can also get the hobby model primers, but I've tested many brands of both; They are so similar that you probably couldn't tell the difference. Plus hobby primers and paint are more expensive.

I dip or sparay sla parts with johnsons kleer floor wax, its been known by other names over time, and is not wax but clear acrylic.
it seals against uv from sun, and can be a base for further paints.
my wife uses gliss hair product, don't know what it does, but empty pump pray bottles are ideal, with a very fine spray.

I have some electroplated sla parts, it adds a lot of strength, some used as elecrtodes for spark errosion, but did not last long.

Thanks for the responses.
If clear acrylic works, then I'd imagine pretty much any acrylic should work. If you can electroplate the parts, does that mean that it's somewhat electrically conductive, or do you have to paint on a conductive layer first? I would have thought the plastic to be an electric insulator.

Clear acrylic is good to seal parts and stop darkening with time, its pledge kleer by the way, but for elecroplating a coat of silver loaded paint is used as a base layer, not cheap, then nickel or copper plated, DIY plating is very do-able but like most things has a technique needing practice.
Its suprising how much strength is added to the part by such a thin layer of metal.

Electroplating ABS prints from Prusa i3 - Problems
http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?1,304620


Video of FDM or DLP/SLA part copper/nickel electroplated.

Metal Plating 3d Printed Plastics by RePliForm Inc.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-heV79vRWY

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