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I received some 3d printed terrain and it has a fairly rough/ridged surface from printing. Other than sanding, does anyone have any tips to get a smooth surface?

I have heard that rubbing with acetone can be used to smooth, but I am worried it may damage the model.

You could always find a light weight sealant, like liquid green stuff, to effectively fill the striations that come with some 3D-printed materials.

I use Car primer on mine removed the steps pretty well and doesn't alter the look, other than the colour but guessing your painting anyway.

if your going to use acetone be quick (like very quick) as it will eat the plastic if not careful.

I hear there is a way to vaporize some kinda chemical (probably acetone) that will smooth it out with vapors.

i literally googled 3d printing vapor smoothing and there seems to be a ton of resources.

Are the printed parts made of ABS? If so, you can use a vaporized acetone process to evenly smooth the entire surface. If it's printed in something else, you're best bet is to putty and sand like a regular model. If you have an ABS part and want to learn about the acetone process, I did a little video tutorial on it a few years back for how I do it. This is what I do to treat all of my 3D printed action figures before painting:




You can read more about it on my site:
https://prometheusrising.net/2013/04/01/prhi-acetone-treatment-for-abs-3d-printer-parts-video/

If you have any questions, please let me know! I'm always happy to share my experiences and help people get into this kind of stuff.

Great links and video! A bit nervous about heating acetone, though. It's extremely flammable and boils just shy of 133 F and has a flash point of -4 F, which means any kind of static can ignite the vapor.

It's DEFINITELY worth it to just pay extra for the detailed plastic.

 jmurph wrote:
Great links and video! A bit nervous about heating acetone, though. It's extremely flammable and boils just shy of 133 F and has a flash point of -4 F, which means any kind of static can ignite the vapor.

It certainly is a little nerve-wracking at first, but as long as you are mindful and respectful of what you are doing you shouldn't have any problems. I have been doing it for years without incident, and I am not the most meticulously careful person As long as you are working with small volumes of liquid in an appropriately large container and not over-heating it, the vapor stays nicely in the container.

I saw some stuff in the model supplies shop the other day that's specifically for painting onto 3D printed stuff to smooth out striations. Can't find it on their website right now but I'll make a note of what it's called next time I'm over there – might be popping in tomorrow.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oo, just found it! Here you go: http://modelshop.co.uk/Shop/Cast-Mould/Coatings/Item/XTC-3D/ITM7368

 Nazrak wrote:
I saw some stuff in the model supplies shop the other day that's specifically for painting onto 3D printed stuff to smooth out striations. Can't find it on their website right now but I'll make a note of what it's called next time I'm over there – might be popping in tomorrow.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oo, just found it! Here you go: http://modelshop.co.uk/Shop/Cast-Mould/Coatings/Item/XTC-3D/ITM7368

Neat!