I need to paint some SLA models and make them look good and shiny.  Do you have any recommendations on type or brand of paint to use?

 

Send the parts to a prototype shop and have them paint it.  The best paint is Sherwin Williams Polane paint.  It's $100 a gallon for any custom pantone color match.

i use any aerosol car paint from pep boys or kragen...cheap, lots of colors, shiny, dries fast

I’ve had very good luck with standard ACE hardware brand spray paint and primer. For a couple bucks, you can’t beat it.

My trick is to always do a lot of sanding before painting.  With SLAs

you can get down to a 600 grit wet sand if you are patient enough.

Wear a mask if you don't wet sand, that dust is bad news.

I use sandable filling primer after that.  It dries very quickly and

fills small imperfections.  You can just use Krylon from a hardware

store, I think it is a lacquer.  It comes in gray, white and black -

make your choice based on the color of paint you plan to put on over

it (use white for lighter colors).  Don't use enamel, it takes forever

to dry.

In school I used to always use car touch-up paint from an auto parts

store for shiny looking models, but the color selection is limited to

car colors - lots of metallics, it might not be what you are looking

for.

Assuming that your spray facilities are very limited, a very nice finish can still be achieved on SLA parts with little more than some very fine sandpaper, some elbow grease, and a can of Krylon brand aerosol spray paint.  I would suggest an initial rough sanding pass with 180 grit “Wet or Dry” sandpaper and then a second finish sanding pass with 320 grit.  Krylon spray paints cover well, dry quickly, and can produce a nice gloss appearance in a broad range of colors.

I believe they just sand them, coat them with clear lacquer, then grey primer, then spray paint them with an standard macrolon style paint.

 

 


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