3D Printing Blog

Plasti Dip is an interesting alternative to traditional paint in the form of a synthetic rubber coating that you can apply on various materials by dipping, brushing, or spraying and this includes 3D printed models as well. By applying Plasti Dip you can protect the coated items against moisture, acids, abrasion, corrosion, and skidding/slipping, and provides a comfortable, controlled grip. Plasti Dip remains flexible and stretchy over time, and will not crack or become brittle in extreme weather conditions (-34 to 93 Celsius). You can find Plasti Dip available in multiple different forms and sizes in smaller or larger containers as well as in the form of aerosol spray cans. You need to make sure you have read the instructions on how to use it if this is your first time using Plasti Dip as this can affect your results and in order to get good results make sure to follow the simple rules on how to paint with this interesting rubbery alternative to traditional paint.

The features that Plasti Dip has make it a great alternative to traditional paint to color your 3D printed models in order to make them not only prettier, but also more durable to extreme conditions. Another good thing is that you can relatively easily remove the Plasti Dip color coating by peeling it off the model, though at the same time it is also pretty durable. By applying a few layers of Plasti Dip you can achieve good coverage of the 3D model, the cute octopus on the photo above printed using transparent PLA material was well covered with just three layers of red Plasti Dip. You may however need something like 3-5 layers to get good coverage, depending on the material and the color that the 3D printed model is using. With 3-5 layers of coating you should still be able to see the finer details of each layer of the 3D printed model, however with some more layers you may be able to achieve smother surface finish. A great example of using Plasti Dip for coating a 3D printed model is a case for a mobile phone – providing better grip and finish, and you can use multiple colors to create additional effects on 3D models that are printed with a single color. So feel free to experiment and play with Plasti Dip as it opens some new and interesting options for your 3D printed models…