Blefuscu Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 3 hours ago, tom s said: Yeah looks good! I am reminded of car modellers on youtube who use layers and layers of varnish, finer and finer sandpapers and finally polishing compound to get the glassy finish on their models. Not sure how much of the clouding is within the material and how much is on the surface though. That's kind of how I prime my printed models. I think a lot of the car people are using enamels/laquers but I use acrylics and the paints/varnishes don't always respond as well to sanding in my experience. Theoritically, I would sand/polish the resin itself... but, as I mentioned, that sounds like an awful job. I can see the inside of those curved window pieces being a total nightmare and would probably end up pinging them across the room. When I tried a RERF print the flat blocks printed with really good clarity, so I suspect most, if not all, of the diffusion is on the surface. When the varnish is wet they do look tantalizingly clear... for a while. Clarity aside, I like how the printed windows can be mounted flush to the window frame - or close enough - so I'm weighting up how long it would take me to cut and fit acetate that accurately. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
natterjack Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 4 minutes ago, Blefuscu said: so I suspect most, if not all, of the diffusion is on the surface Have you tried the usual trick of dipping in acrylic floor polish (Pledge)? Its very low viscosity might penetrate and fill much of the surface irregularity, maybe with multiple dip/cure cycles. 'Made for the job' varieties are available from such as Ultimate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blefuscu Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 8 minutes ago, natterjack said: Have you tried the usual trick of dipping in acrylic floor polish (Pledge)? Its very low viscosity might penetrate and fill much of the surface irregularity, maybe with multiple dip/cure cycles. 'Made for the job' varieties are available from such as Ultimate. I do have a bit of Pledge around, if I had a spare one I'd give it a quick dip... but I've been using Vallejo polturethane acrylic gloss with their airbrush thinner. I did do a few with Createx UVLS clear but it didn't seem as effective on the first pass. I did wonder abotu using the resin itself. It's very low visocity (for a UV resin at least). Would save me the trouble of washing it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
natterjack Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 11 hours ago, Blefuscu said: I do have a bit of Pledge around, if I had a spare one I'd give it a quick dip. Dipping will not affect the Pledge- just decant some and return to the bottle after use; cheap way to see if that approach would work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blefuscu Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 23 minutes ago, natterjack said: Dipping will not affect the Pledge- just decant some and return to the bottle after use; cheap way to see if that approach would work. I meant a spare window, as I had already varnished everything I'd printed. That said - I discovered thus morning that the varnish is not bonding very well to the resin. It's fairly easy to peel it off! So, I've stripped back a set of windows and I'm going to see how far I can improve the finish mechanically before I consider what to do next. I'm down to 2500 with wet paper and they look like sea glass. (The ones on the left of the picture have 3 layers of varnish) 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blefuscu Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 "Sea glass" after I attacked it with a dremel polishing wheel and dipped in Pledge. I thought I had some better polishing compound in the loft, but I couldn't find it, so I'm calling them finished. I think if I had a cab/interior to show off I'd still be rubbing away at it. I'm impressed they are still intact after going at them with the dremel. I was running it quite slow as not to heat them, but it still required a bit of pressure to get behind the window. 2 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blefuscu Posted January 9 Author Share Posted January 9 So, the following day I ditched the Pledge windows, added another 0.1mm or so tolerance to the fit and printed a new set of windows. This time I simply gave them a coat of UV resin from the vat (goodbye brush) and fixed it with a UV torch before 'baking' them in the Wash n' Cure. I have since perfected this technique with my model cars by fitting the windows while they are still soft, and then glazing both sides with a coat of resin. This makes the fit easier and glues them in place at the same time. Probably a lot stronger Revell Contacta Clear too. Printing the wipers was interesting. They are very very small and might not have been worth the bother. I printed a dozen and broke half the ones the printer didn't! Etched parts were discussed earlier, and might have been a better idea. Should have gone over everything with an air duster before the macro photos... 6 6 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeTrice Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 On 04/01/2024 at 15:50, Blefuscu said: I thought I had some better polishing compound in the loft, but I couldn't find it, so I'm calling them finished. Next time try toothpaste. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodshaw Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 That is a very nice model. I'm looking forward to seeing how you motorise it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Flying Pig Posted January 10 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 10 14 hours ago, Blefuscu said: So, the following day I ditched the Pledge windows, added another 0.1mm or so tolerance to the fit and printed a new set of windows. This time I simply gave them a coat of UV resin from the vat (goodbye brush) and fixed it with a UV torch before 'baking' them in the Wash n' Cure. I have since perfected this technique with my model cars by fitting the windows while they are still soft, and then glazing both sides with a coat of resin. This makes the fit easier and glues them in place at the same time. Probably a lot stronger Revell Contacta Clear too. Printing the wipers was interesting. They are very very small and might not have been worth the bother. I printed a dozen and broke half the ones the printer didn't! Etched parts were discussed earlier, and might have been a better idea. Should have gone over everything with an air duster before the macro photos... Great job conveying the character of a Deltic and an excellent finish. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blefuscu Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 13 hours ago, MikeTrice said: Next time try toothpaste. Thanks - I really thought I had some Autoglym in the loft but I never found it... I think for the small windows this brush-on application of resin looks OK but anything larger is going to need finishing with a fine abrasive or it's going to look like the bottom of a jam jar. I'll remember that tip. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blefuscu Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 9 hours ago, rodshaw said: That is a very nice model. I'm looking forward to seeing how you motorise it. Thanks.. yes, me too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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