Full Color Sandstone test prints

Better picture.



The noise in the color is caused by printing quality issues, and would probably not show up on a properly printed model.

The roughly exact procedure that was followed on this test piece is as follows:

Day 1:
Polish using Dremel 512S fine abrasive buff; model will feel soft rather than sandy after this
Spray with Motip Plastic Primer, everytime just two quick sprays on front, back, left, right, top, bottom; it'll look wet for a few seconds; not visible afterwards
Wait 1 hour
Spray with primer again
Wait 1 hour
Polish using Dremel again (can probably be skipped, makes no difference).
Spray with primer again
Wait 1 hour
Spray with primer again; you'll still see nothing of the primer afterwards

Day 2:
Spray #1 with Motip Clear Varnish ACRYL
Wait 1-2 hours; you won't see anything of the varnish.
Spray #2
Wait 1-2 hours; you might see some small glittery sparkles
Spray #3
Wait 4-5 hours; the surface will be slightly sparkly now
Spray #4; surface will start showing rough gloss

Day 3:
Spray #5
Wait 4-5 hours; the surface will look like glossy cloth
Spray #6
Wait 1-2 hours; the surface will look glossy, but the stepping of false flat surfaces is clearly visible
Spray #7
Wait 4-5 hours; the surface will look glossy, the stepping will show trough slightly wobbly
Spray #8
Wait 4-5 hours; the surface will look excessively glossy, stepping is nearly unnoticable
Spray with Motip Matte ALKYD Varnish; the surface will immediately look matte, and will stay as it looks now.
Let dry for another 24 hours.

You might need less or more layers depending on your wait times and the print quality of the model.

Will try to reproduce this somewhere around next week maybe.

It's all about preference, of course, but that glossy one looks great.

Great post and thanks for the detailed write up about the post processes that you tried. The glossy version looks fantastic, like glazed ceramics, although on this model a matte finish fits better I agree.
@shapeways: when will we finally be able to orient our work the way we want? I think it is the no1 wish for many.

If you feel strongly about this.. add votes to the uservoice entry https://feedback.shapeways.com/forums/111989-shapeways-feedba ck/suggestions/2543810-specify-print-orientation

Thanks for the pointer, added 3 votes. I cannot imagine there aren't more people that want this to happen, hopefully this catches the attention of more users

Kaetemi, do you think this would work well for a model kept in water? I know "in water" is never ideal , but I'm making a snowglobe with a FCS model inside and hope to help the color last, at least for a little while.

Hallo

I received some arenaria full color items and I really like roughness and finish. Is there anyone who succeeded to protect the color at water, keeping the original sandstone surface, rough and dull?

Thanks

Great efforts to do all the tests!

Sorry for raising the dead here, but I'm curious. I want to apply this method to some small parts. They aren't delicate, but they are made of small cubes, (pixel art pretty much) each pixel about 2mmx2mmx2mm, and I want to maintain a "sharp" edge. Will the coatings gum up the corners and edges at all? Or are the layers thin enough that it doesn't effect the dimensions in any noticeable way?

Thanks