Creation Station: La Quinta's MakerSpace

By Michele McNeilly From cosplayers, to movie studio prop departments, to hobbyists, special effect painting can take an everyday ordinary object or craft into something extraordinary. You could make something brand new from scratch and with some simple painting tricks make it looks hundreds or thousands of years old. So how can you achieve this technique? Primer The first step is to prime your object.  A good primer will ensure that all your work has a better adhesion for your project's paint to stick to.  It will also reduce the layers of paint you need to apply for your primary or main colors.  If you choose not to prime, it will take more coats of the primary/main colors and the paint might chip or peal during the process. By priming, you will save some time and paint. Here are some primers that are recommended for 3D Printed items or to repaint objects. Automotive Primer has special filler properties that can minimize or eliminate layer lines which...

Post-Processing Permutes Pre-Perfect Prints into Post-Perfect Parts           3D printing is a fun and exciting hobby to adopt! It can be a shock, however, to see your first prints and notice the effects of the 3D printing manufacturing process: visible layers of plastic, printing (mostly) in one color, strings and flashing from untidy nozzle pathways, or a surface finish that does not agree with your imagination. Post-Processing your parts after the print can help you achieve the manifestation of that vision of your part you hold in your mind's eye. Let's explore a brief overview of some post-processing techniques which exist for printed parts! Sandpaper!, 1 Sanding:           Sanding with sandpaper or sanding sponges can abrade the outside shell of your print into a smooth surface. The process starts with by using a lower grit sandpaper until desired smoothness is obtained, then proceeding to a higher grit sandpaper to rep...