Painting and dying 3D prints

- (Instructor)Most lower cost 3D printers create a print … in one material and one color. … For many applications this is all you need. … However, you might want to paint … or dye some parts after printing. … We'll focus here on painting pieces … created on a filament 3D printer. … PLA is easy to print … and might be your best bet. … Assuming your part won't be in a hot environment. … ABS also takes paint Well, … but it's harder to print with. … Nylon and PETG generally won't hold paint very well. … They can both be colored with fabric dye though, … using dyes intended for nylon … and polyester fabric respectively. … 3D prints made with a filament printer … have visible layer lines. … Some materials can be sanded to remove the layer lines. … Rough sanding will also leave some surface texture, … that will give the paint more to stick to. … However fine features are difficult to sand. … A less destructive way to remove layer lines, … can be to fill them with fillers like bondo, wood filler, …