As I continue to move my Shapeways collection more towards FUD, I noticed that some of my primed, but not yet painted, ships had a clear, sparkly "something" coming through the primer as the poor ship languished on my work bench waiting for attention.
Determined to figure out what it was, research ensued. Turns out, it was resin that hadn't fully cured yet. No amount of washing will stop it from coming back. To stop it, you must finish the curing process. It needs UV for that. If you have a UV lamp, that will work. If you don't, you need to let the models sit out in the sun for a couple of hours. I had to resort to the latter method and it worked great.
Anyway, this PSA brought to you by the number 213...which is the approximate number of ships and planes waiting patiently in and around my workbench for paint.
Wow, definitely had this issue regularly, great that there is such a good fix. The irony is that I initially thought it was like the material was 'sweating' so I did my best to keep it out of the sun and warmth.
Last Edit: Jul 11, 2018 8:40:30 GMT by Ecclesiastes
"That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been"
Wow, definitely had this issue regularly, great that there is such a good fix. The irony is that I initially thought it was like the material was 'sweating' so I did my best to keep it out of the sun and warmth.
That is actually a problem too. The process uses wax to support the model as it is being printed. When the printing is done the model is heated and the wax melted away. There are internal areas of models that will also have wax. The designers are supposed to make sure there is a way for the wax to drain out of every nook and cranny in the model. But sometimes the "drain holes" are pretty small. My paint started dripping off the first FUD model I ever painted even though I had soaked it in warm, soapy water several times. Now I first soak in warm, soapy water several times, then I rinse the model with rubbing alcohol, then soak again in warm, soapy water a couple of times.
So in addition to curing the resin, we also have to make sure all the wax is thoroughly removed. We learned about the wax quite awhile ago. I suspect that is a significant part of the problem. But I also see that "clouding" of the FUD after it sits for awhile so I think both issues are there.
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This is fascinating. I have so far only done modest cleaning on any models. I noticed the metallic bleed through the primer on a couple, but I thought it was the primer because the problem went away when I switched to a different brand and consistency. I have noticed that some FUD models are more "milky" than others and some are more waxy. One thing I've noticed is that if one of those two conditions appears, it does so about a week or two after shipment. Looking at the last dozen ships in my recent order, I have a few of each. I'll try some combination of clean and sun depending on the condition. Thanks for the info!!!