I see that the "strong and flexible plastic" is nylon. Nylon is great, except for one thing, it can't be painted. Paint doesn't bond to it. ABS is paintable but I see no option for it although it is one of the most common plastics for 3D prints. How come it isn't offered, or is it and I missed it? I see they have acrylic which can be painted but the cost is prohibitive.
Who says that nylon cannot be painted ? You will probably have to use some primer first to seal the porous surface for best results, but otherwise regular acrylic paints (such as Revell or Tamiya brands used for painting conventional plastic model kits) do work well.
Yeah no, WSF can be painted just fine; Primer with Vallejo Grey Printer and colored using Citadel Acrylics.
I probably should be more specific. Almost anything can be painted. What I am referring to is plastic where the paint actually bites into the surface and bonds with it. There is nothing that I know of that will *bond* to nylon, it basically just lays on the surface but will peel very easily. That is fine for decorative models that sit on a shelf and don't really see wear. For items such as phone cases, flashlight cases etc. that see wear, any such paint will peel and flake off of nylon easily.
The 3d printed nylon is a bit porous so there is a possibility that paints can penetrate this porosity and exhibit better cling or adhesion. The surface is a lot different than what a shiny molded or extruded plastic would have.
the WSF plastic is actually a little more porous than most plastic models come in. It comes out really well. i under coat my models with a black spray paint and it absorbs into the surface layer really nicely. i was actually quite surprised at how well the paint took. The main issue with the WSF is that it comes out pretty rough but the results are still nice on larger (8-9+cm range) models. i havent tried painting the Frosted detail plastic yet but if you check out this: https://www.shapeways.com/product/NCENC9D2Z/iron-wolf-head-c ompatible-w-imperial-knight-titan?li=search-results-1&op tionId=55962069 its printed in the frosted detail and looks really good so it should be fine. Is there some specific purpose you need the model for that might have differing requirements from standard model painting?
ok my bad didn't read your clarification further up. my answer is this: you wouldn't paint a phone case. i cant imagine much would last long painted on something that gets rubbed against so much. maybe if you put on a hard glaze after painting but that's a different story as you'd need to do that anyway so plastic shouldn't matter. Also the absorption would spread surely so the you're not looking for detailed designs, why not use coloured plastic rather than paint it?
They don't offer colored plastic. All that is offered is white which is then dyed. The dye will rub through too. Also these models may need to be sanded to remove roughness and those raster lines. If you sand these dyed models the white nylon will come through.
huh that's interesting I'd assumed the dyes permeated better. As much as i'm sure shapeways would hate me saying it sounds like your best bet is to try else where. there are other printing facilities that do offer coloured plastic, theres a 3d print hub website that acts as a matching service for people with models to print and smaller 3d print companies, could be worth a look. Shapeways offer a pretty good service but they can't do everything for everyone. If you're planning to produce several of the model have you considered using shapeways to make a prototype and then casting it in something else? not sure what would be best as i'd assume resin would have the wrong consistency but you might be able to find some sort of castable rubbery material that you can mix the dyes/paints in before casting to get the colours you want.