How do you prepare 3D printed parts for plating, or equivilant?

[Repstock]

I'm having a real bad time trying to get the printing texture out of my bumpers and trim pieces of 3D printed bodies. The texture is so aggressive ( and I use the highest quality bodies that are offered), that I'm softening or destroying the detail and contours. Anybody have a technique for doing this successfully?

[OldNYJim]

Where are you getting the bodies from, and what material are they?

The best 3D prints I’ve seen are done so nicely that those step lines are so fine and subtle it shouldn’t take much more than a decent primer and some 400 grit to clean up some problem areas…but some of the worst ones I’ve seen (and own) and gonna take half a can of filler primer and a couple of scoops of Bondo…

Curious to see what you’re up against…

[89AKurt]

I just got a body, so signing up for this class.

[Rick L]

Unfortunately, you don’t know what quality you’re going to get when ordering printed parts. Some vendors print out  parts with high resolution,   resulting in a clean soother finish, or step up the speed of production with low resolution, producing poor results. Low res is useless for detailed parts because you’re going to lose the detail from filling and sanding. Low res is only good for plain surfaces and still it’s a lot of work to fill. To answer your question, I have found Evercoat polyester glazing putty to work best for this application because it doesn’t shrink like other brands. 
  May I suggest to anyone looking to purchase printed parts to check with the forums view on the merchants products. Or give a shout-out to the better vendors.

[iamsuperdan]

Yup. Before buying and printing parts, I try to find actual images of what I'm buying. Not the render, but an actual image. 

 

When printing, you could also try reducing your layer height. Even drop it down to .01mm.

It won't clean up a file, but it should print it somewhat smoother. Although it will take longer to actually print. 

Might lessen your issue.

 

[Oldmopars]

2 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

Yup. Before buying and printing parts, I try to find actual images of what I'm buying. Not the render, but an actual image. 

 

When printing, you could also try reducing your layer height. Even drop it down to .01mm.

It won't clean up a file, but it should print it somewhat smoother. Although it will take longer to actually print. 

Might lessen your issue.

 

Every printer is different,  however any prints I do are printed at .0035. It takes forever,  but the layer lines are so small, it takes very little to remove them.