I had an item printed in transparent detail. I wanted to wet sand the sides of it. As soon as I got it wet it seemed like it was beginning to dissolve. It got slimy while wet, and was very sticky while I dried it. Is it water soluble? bvr
Most probably residues of the wax-like support material, try heptane ("white spirit"/"mineral spirit","bestine(tm)") or isopropyl alcohol. Also see threads on "FUD wax removal" and similar topics in the "Post Production Techniques" forum.
mkroeker, The item is basically a cube, just flat sides. It felt just like plastic with solvent on it. As soon as I felt it I blew it off and set it in front of a fan. As it's a moving piece I did not want the dim's. to change much so I just stopped. I'm going to dry sand it now. thanks for the reply bvr
Now I'm slightly confused. I ordered "transparent detail" Looking at the material choices, I see "transparent detail", "frosted detail" and "frosted ultra detail" Which material page should I be reading? bvr
"transparent detail" is listed as one of the available finishes of the "detail" material, so you probably want to read that. The other detail material, "frosted detail/frosted ultra detail" is probably chemically similar enough as far as solvent resilience is concerned.
There are two types of 'Detail' materials. Frosted Detail and Frosted Ultra Detail are done on a machine that uses wax for support. White, Black and Transparent Detail use a machine that has water soluble support material. What the OP has found is a thin layer of the jelly like support material, which tends to become slimy when wet. The actual material of the piece is acrylic plastic and so is quite robust and won't dissolve in water. However this plastic will soften at about 50C so care should be taken when sanding not to let the piece get over heated.
That is good to know. (So good, in fact that I wonder why it is not on the materials sheet - I see only a fleeting mention of "waxy material" there that does not seem to be all that easy to remove)
/\ /\ /\ --- this --- /\ /\ /\ I thought I was missing something in reading the material page. Thank you BillBedford I can't wait to show off what I've built...but I have to machine a piece for it. Only because I want it working now and do not have the patience to wait for the part to be printed. Off to make chips...machining has started to feel somewhat medieval. My how times are a changin' thanks again everyone for the reply's bvr