#printing text help

46 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

young gazelle
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I am working on figuring out how to make this text on 3d printed face plates. So far I made these stencil with a resin 3d printer, buffed the pla pieces using sandpaper and a rotating gizmo, it left a brushed/machined look which im fine with but was super time consuming, took me like a few hours. And used krylon fusion white spray can. I noticed there is a lot of waste and the lettering isnt very crisp how I would like it to be so I ordered a air brush, hoping it would work better with less waste.
Another method I could try instead of 3d printed stencil is a photo resist dry film and expose the lettering on it using resin 3d printer then wash away the unexposed parts and and paint and then peel away the exposed parts.
Also I want to spray the paint out of the can into the air brush because I dont have any other paint to use and this one seems perfect since its a primer + paint. I am not sure how well it would work, the paint is fast drying, you can touch it within like 20min I think, maybe there is a way to extend it. I read that acrylic paints that you would normally use with air brush could peel if you don't use a primer and they are generally weaker.

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there is another two possible method that could work, that is to use uv curing paint and place it on the lcd of the 3d printer then cure just the lettering directly on the plastic piece. or order a solder paste stencil from a pcb manufacturer, wipe the paint through it and that would leave just the text on the plastic pieces which could be cured.

round stag
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Is the part you are trying to paint stencils to also printed? If so, can you print with the letters recessed then fill those in afterwards with white paint?

I think that is how the Authentikit folks deal with lettering on their printed HOTAS parts, though I'm not sure.

young gazelle
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Im looking to get this paint finish (igrnoring the wear and dirt)

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I had to do a LOT of sanding to get PLA to look nice but It doesn't have the right finish and is a finger print/scrach magnet

round stag
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Ah yeah I see. Have you looked at how the Authentikit guys recommend adding text? They do a good job, but I've never looked into it

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Maybe they are doing something clever

young gazelle
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I found out about Dupli-Color 2 In-1 Hi-Build Filler & Sandable Primer which Is what I will try using next in combination with some paint but I don't know what paint to use

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to get the same effect like it was painted on metal

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I looked at authentikit just now and it seems that most of the stuff is printed with much bigger text

round stag
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Yeah could be

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I'm not sure a new brand of paint will fix your issue with paint bleeding under the stencil. Are you using any double-sided tape between the stencil and your surface?

young gazelle
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oh I mean painting the whole surface black.

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like the texture they have

round stag
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Ah gotcha

young gazelle
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I think I know how they do their text

round stag
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To help with the fuzzy text, one trick I've seen used is to first coat a layer of clear varnish (to fill bleed points) then to go over with your color of choice. Since the varnish is clear any bleed wouldn't be visible. But that won't work if the gaps between your stencil and the surface are too large

young gazelle
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there is some gaps

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because the stencil didnt cure perfectly flat every where

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my idea is to clamp it down and use a air brush instead of spray can

round stag
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Worth a try

young gazelle
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because the spray can hits everything and if I get too close then its wayyy to thick

round stag
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Another alternative might be to buy lettering decals and place the letters individually. Not sure what a good source for the right size and font would be though.

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The stencil could help with alignment on that method at least

young gazelle
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but with a clamp it would hold the stencil flush and I can get just the text and not every surface in a foot range😂

young gazelle
# young gazelle

the way these guys do their text is a bit different, I believe there may be a white paint or primer underneath and a laser engraver hits the top black paint precisely

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I have seen this technique used for hotas stuff too. only issue is I cant afford a laser engraver at the moment.

young gazelle
# young gazelle

I just need to figure out how to get this kind of black paint texture

random ether
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👍 nice concept

flat turtle
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Other option you could try is reverse the writing and print resin stamps, then just dip the stamps into a puddle of paint and stamp it on (use cheap acrylic for this rather than nice modelling paint)

young gazelle
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I tried uv resin to smooth the print but it took way too long to cure and the part is bowed out a little bit

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I think it cured for more then an hour because I kept doing 20 minutes and each time I took it out it was still tacky

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although the bowing is not too bad

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im printing with pla

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does anyone have any method to quickly smooth out layer lines

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I also got this bondo glaze and wood filler. I tried the bondo glaze by mixing it with acetone and sprayng it on but I dont think it came on thick enough because it didnt really hide anything. I think it would be better if I spread it on by hand.

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havent tried the wood filler yet

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I also tried sanding the pla directly but that takes way too long and hard to get in small spots on other parts

young gazelle
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Im starting to think that maybe making this stuff on resin 3d printer would work much better

young gazelle
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Sanded the resin smoothed one and painted but some layer lines still showing through somehow even tho it looked completely smooth.

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Tried applying bondo glaze by hand and sanded but after painting its not uniform in some spots and some layer lines are still visible