How To Paint 3d Prints With Acrylics

3D printing can exist an amazing tool for a lot of creative crafts but newcomers often face the same upshot when painting their 3D prints: The paint comes off rather easily. So in this commodity, I will tell you exactly how to paint your 3D prints correctly and avert issues like peeling paint!

As a whole, to paint 3D prints the surface of the prints has to be prepared commencement. The surface needs to be sanded and so a primer has to be practical to ensure that the paint volition stick properly to the surface of the print. Afterwards that, the print can be painted with acrylic, enamel, or oil paints.

You can meet how I commonly paint my 3D sculptures in this video right hither.

3D prints are basically plastic, and then if you want to know more about painting plastics and so consider reading my guide on how to paint plastic right here.

I recently got my hands on the Mars 2 Pro resin 3D printer from Elegoo and I instantly started creating a small sculpture to see how 3D printing tin can be used in the craft world.

In this article, I will share how I painted the model and what I did to prepare the model for the painting, so that you know exactly how to paint your 3D prints and ensure that they will turn out great.

How to Sand 3D Prints Properly

The outset matter you demand to exercise is prepare the surface of the 3D print for painting. So nosotros will smooth the surface, if necessary, with some sandpaper.

To sand the 3D impress it is important to become rid of any access like printing supports or threading from the print past removing those with a arts and crafts pocketknife, or pliers. Then remove any crude parts of the impress with some 100 to 120-grit sandpaper and move your way up to 300 grit to smooth the surface of the print.

This process needs to exist washed with regular 3D printed models likewise every bit resin prints. Simply you will have much less smoothing to practice with resin prints.

A pro tip when working with not-resin prints that have a lot of visible impress lines is using spray-on spatular.

Just apply a few thin layers of spray-on filler to your 3D print and and so commencement the sanding process. The filler is easier to sand than the plastic of the print itself and information technology volition fill in the small uneven surface details like impress lines.

This style you don´t have to sand as much.

You lot can find spray-on filler correct here on Amazon or in your local hardware store in the department for car appliances.

What Kind of Paint Can be Used for Painting 3D Prints?

There are some paints that can exist practical to 3D prints direct without press them starting time merely I generally recommend printing the prints before painting them as information technology is simply more reliable.

As a whole, 3D prints can be painted with any type of paint as long as the impress has been sanded and primed beforehand. The easiest type of paint to piece of work with is acrylic paint but the prints can besides exist painted with oil paints or enamel paints.

There are some paints that can be directly applied to 3D prints and I have a separate article where I become into particular about how and what kind of paints can be used for that.

You can read all about that in my article: How to paint plastic, right here.

Simply the easiest and safest fashion to paint 3D prints is sanding and priming the print before applying the paint.

You can utilise any blazon of paint that you want but I highly recommend using acrylic paint. Especially acrylic pigment from Vallejo is great for painting plastic.

You can besides employ different paints to paint your print. For case, you could paint the whole print with acrylic pigment and so utilise an oil wash over the whole thing to weather the paint chore underneath.

How to Paint 3D Prints With Acrylic Paint

If you are a beginner then I highly recommend using acrylic paint for painting your first few prints. They are easy to use and you can become them quite cheaply.

To paint 3D prints with acrylic pigment the prints first have to be prepared for painting by sanding them and applying a primer to the surface. And then the acrylic paint can exist applied directly to the print. After the paint has dried a thin coat of matt acrylic sealer can be practical to protect the paint.

This sculpture that I made was near entirely 3D printed with the Mars 2 Pro and I painted information technology with acrylic paints.

But, as ever, earlier painting something similar resin you apply a primer. In my case, I used a flat black primer from Krylon that yous can go here on Amazon.

Information technology is possible that y'all need multiple layers of acrylic paint to sufficiently comprehend the surface. I usually need two or three layers.

After the acrylic paint has dried y'all can apply a sparse coat of matt acrylic sealer to the whole impress to seal the paint. This will add another layer of protection to your paint job.

You can get an acrylic sealer at your local hardware shop or right here on Amazon.

How to Pigment 3D Resin Prints

Resin 3D printers are getting more than and more affordable and the quality of the prints is getting absolutely insane, as yous can see in my Mars 2 Pro review right here. Only are they whatever dissimilar to paint than regular 3D printed models?

Equally a whole, 3D resin prints can be painted with acrylic, oil, or enamel paints but the print has to be sanded slightly and a primer has to exist applied to make certain that the pigment volition stick properly and permanently to the surface of the print.

It´s pretty much the same every bit painting regular 3D printed models with the sole exception that you don´t have to practice as much sanding or clean upwards of the print in general considering the print lines are so much finer compared to a regular 3D printer.

Do Resin Prints Need Primer?

Resin printers are fairly new for the crafts community so I become a lot of questions regarding priming the 3D resin print.

As a whole, a primer should exist applied to the 3D resin print earlier painting it simply at that place are paints that will adhere to the surface of the resin print directly. All the same, the easiest style to pigment resin prints is by priming them first and then painting them with acrylic paints.

So they don´t demand a primer only it is highly recommended to apply one.

If you don´t utilise a primer to the resin before painting information technology then you run the run a risk that the pigment won´t attach properly to the surface. This will in plough result in the pigment peeling or chipping off.

Practise 3D Prints Need Primer?

3D printing, in full general, has been around for quite some time now but it is condign more than and more mainstream so I go asked a lot if you demand to prime number all 3D prints for painting.

3D prints don´t need a primer if they are non existence painted. And even if they are being painted then using a primer is highly recommended but non necessary equally there are paints that will adhere straight to plastic without a primer.

But, every bit I stated before, applying a primer earlier painting the print is highly recommended as information technology ensures that the paint won´t peel off afterwards on.

Really the big takeaway hither is that using a primer is e'er the best cause of action when painting 3D prints in general as it ensures that the paint e'er adheres properly to your 3D impress and you lot will likewise need less paint because a primed surface will have the paint much meliorate.