Has anyone found a killer gold PLA filament?

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rixpix247
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Has anyone found a killer gold PLA filament?

Post by rixpix247 » Sat Sep 13, 2014 1:12 am

I noted an awesome gold on RichRaps blog (http://richrap.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html) and posted a question there as to what mfg it came from, but no answer yet. Is there an awesome gold out there? Or do we just use a gold spray and let it go at that?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JKVyYfnMYWw/T ... n_gold.jpg

Since MakerGear does not carry a "gold" color in filament, I figured that I am not requesting competitive information. :)

Thanks in advance!

rixpix247
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Joined: Mon Apr 14, 2014 7:26 pm

Re: Has anyone found a killer gold PLA filament?

Post by rixpix247 » Wed Sep 17, 2014 1:40 am

(insert crickets chirping here...)

Since there obviously doesn't seem to be a plethora of information regarding this question due to the overwhelming responses, I have hence ordered five different samples of so called "gold" filament from five different reputable vendors.

I will post my review here with pictures in about two weeks (one vendor is in Europe) so there will be new data available for all the M2 gear heads who are interested.

Hopefully there will be a 'gold' winner among the five chosen.

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jimc
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Re: Has anyone found a killer gold PLA filament?

Post by jimc » Wed Sep 17, 2014 4:31 am

Haha yeah gold isnt too common. I have used a few different metallic filaments and there was really nothing special about any of them. They all just looked like flat colors when done. I just saw what looked like a real nice gold, from the pic anyway. It made me think of this thread but i got distracted with something and forgot to post. Now i cant remember what it was. It was on a clear spool. Colorfabb maybe

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Capt. John
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Re: Has anyone found a killer gold PLA filament?

Post by Capt. John » Fri Sep 19, 2014 5:23 am

My experience with filament is what you see, you might not always get.
Fluorescent colors are fine on the spool and print as a dull not too exciting color.

In colorants used in my tackle business such as metallic, or metal-flake colors are more likely to
jam a .35 nozzle due to particulate size, or how fine the colorant powder grind is.

One surprising thing about my printed models/prototypes take color from air brushing.
Paint as a rule does not want to stick to plastic.

Gold effect you're after my be best sprayed and Rustoleum glaze might provide effect you're after.
Purchased both Krylon and Rustoleum Glaze. Only difference is Krylon is more expensive.
Glaze does a nice finishing effect where print lines/layers become a lot less noticeable.
Capt. John
Manistee, Michigan
Reel Amateur at 3D printing
Fishing Tackle Manufacturer & Webmaster for:
http://www.michiganangler.com
http://www.michigansportsman.com

sprior
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Re: Has anyone found a killer gold PLA filament?

Post by sprior » Fri Sep 19, 2014 11:23 pm

I started to play a little with Rub N Buff (http://www.amaco.com/shop/product-437-r ... ishes.html) which I already had for woodturning. It seems to stick well to the plastic and gives a decent metallic finish.

jsc
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Re: Has anyone found a killer gold PLA filament?

Post by jsc » Fri Sep 19, 2014 11:31 pm

Got any pictures? I'd be interested to see what it looks like on a finished print.

I played with metallic spray paints over primer a while ago: http://www.thingiverse.com/make:65488

sprior
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Re: Has anyone found a killer gold PLA filament?

Post by sprior » Sat Sep 20, 2014 1:03 am

Here's a sample. It's a pretty small statue (about 1 1/2" tall) and I printed it in blue PLA. Then when I got the idea of the Rub N Buff I figured what the heck. You can see some blue peeking through. If I were doing this over I'd use black PLA so it would look more normal in spots. I could also give it another coat of gold, but it was so small I was getting in the cracks with a Q tip.
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sprior
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Re: Has anyone found a killer gold PLA filament?

Post by sprior » Sat Sep 20, 2014 1:05 am

I should mention that Rub N Buff is what antique picture frame restorers use, so it generally comes on those kinds of colors.

3DXTech
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Re: Has anyone found a killer gold PLA filament?

Post by 3DXTech » Mon Jan 05, 2015 5:34 pm

We have a nice selection of metallic PLA's - which work great in our M2. They also include free shipping in the USA.
http://www.3dxtech.com/pla-filament/

rixpix247
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Re: Has anyone found a killer gold PLA filament?

Post by rixpix247 » Sat Jan 10, 2015 12:13 am

Thanks all for your replies and info put forth re: killer gold. My apologies for being late with my review as I have been out of the loop recently and wanted to complete my findings in my search for killer gold filament.

In a nutshell, all the filaments (6 total) I tested resemble a gold-ish like coloration in certain lighting conditions. Mostly though the better ones all looked more similar to some kind of butterscotch hard candy (with transparency) rather than actual solid gold. The best gold-ish (emphasis on the -ish part) filament IMHO is the Bling Bling Gold from across the pond, but it still looks like candy with some light metallic sparkles. Local USA stuff looks more like browns and tans etc. Several of them do have metallic like properties but only when taking a flash picture. Nothing really worthy of photos to post in my opinion for these findings.

Forum member 'sprior' pretty much hit the nail on the head with using either gold paint or gold rub-n-buff. I preferred the gold paint route due to quicker application and results, since my part was very curvacious with hidden areas that would have been very hard to get to. You must prep the surface if you want it to be smooth with out defects though. Finishing filler by 3M that you buy from an auto paint store works great in thin applications.

In addition, I know glitter is more of a girly application for the most part, but you might want to try it on some of the more decor related stuff you might be printing (i.e. post Christmas ornaments). it adds alot of bling in very little time and effort and you can buy sample packs of several colors and metallics for a couple of bucks to just try them out. Unfortunately glitter does not photograph easily so no pictures will be posted for that. Word of advise use a large piece of paper under anything you are glittering!! Do not use anything plastic since that will tend to create a magnetic attraction and make reuse and clean up miserable. Paper... you can just roll it up into a funnel and pour the contents back into the original container or over the next part to be glitter-ized. Also a must have is a lint roller to catch all those little dudes that get everywhere. Blue tape works too, but more pricey and awkward to use.

Thanks for listening.
Rick

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