Today I received a couple of eggish shaped ornament shells. I need to figure out if I should leave them as is, polish them, or maybe coat them with a clearcoat. The colors are close to what I wanted but slightly muted like all color prints seem to be. These have no hint of warping probably because of the shape. First https://shpws.me/vJVS This guy has color disks separated by small grooves so its similar to the first test piece I did for lathe tests https://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=msg&th=20413 &start=74& Any slight groove seems to grow because of plastic shrinkage so it's not a good idea to do this. On the other hand it is lathe-able but I would be afraid of revealing any white material within the cores of the disks. Photos as taken from the shipping bags. The second https://shpws.me/vK0W is smooth and has more potential. No nasty grooves and nice color transitions. These might look good illuminated from within. More photos as progress pregresses!
Quick update after coating the shell having bad gaps with about 10 coats of thick glaze spray. I will let it dry thoroughly before assembling the ornament. The other shell won't need more than 2 or 3 light coats since it is relatively smooth to begin with. I also rinsed the shells in cold water using a very soft paint brush before spraying with the glaze.
Some ornament updates... This is an ornament shell made from full color sandstone and assembled with commercial hardware. It actually cracked when I assembled it but the crack is hidden out of view. I used Krylon Short Cuts clear gloss spray to give a nice protective coating. This has become my spray coating of choice for most applications. It is waterproof, not too glossy or stinky, and it dries quickly. Just a few light coats will do the trick. To avoid the cracking problem with commercial hangers I've generated some mini ornament hangers that are 3D printed and available in my store. They screw together so you can completely avoid any accidental high pressures in a press that can crack the full color sandstone. And you don't need to buy a press! Below is an example of a 3D printed hanger using that 3D printed full color plastic ornament shown previously in this thread. (Note that I messed up the ornament trying to polish it which cracked the sealant and dirt got into the cracks.) But the beauty of the 3D printed hangers is that you can easily replace the ornament itself by unscrewing the ornament and putting in a new one. The commercial hangers are a one shot deal since once they are assembled they are intended to remain that way. And here is the other full color plastic ornament from a previous post coated with the Krylon Short Cuts clear gloss and assembled with commercial hardware. Note that the full color plastic parts are not susceptible to cracking during assembly in a press like sandstone parts. It's a shame they can't yet be offered for sale to the general public.
Even if it takes months I'll eventually get around to it! Presently I'm trying to sort my personal stock, finish loose ends, and put more effort into the store presentation. Too bad all that isn't as much fun as designing.