MakerGear Forum

So this is going to sound strange but I saw this tip on some random board and figured I would try it.

Rust-Oleum-Peel-Coat-Graphite

Its basically a rubbery paint that you can spray on your print bed, I personally did one side (the non bead blasted) of my MIC6. It forms a smooth even surface that is slightly rubbery and can be easily peeled off if you hate it. Ive only done a dozen or so prints on it but parts stick like a dream and when the bed cools down they can be lifted off the bed - not pulled, not scraped, they just come free entirely.

I have no idea what's in play, perhaps the heat makes the surface tacky or more rubbery, but it seems to work and you are left with a ready to go again print bed that has no residue and is undamaged (at least as far as I can see).

I used 3 coats to prep my bed YMMV.

Anyway figured I would throw it out there. I am going to test more filament types - so far only used PLA and PETG, though several of the PLA types were exotic.

I've done some more testing with the limited other materials I have and they all seem to act the same. Even hatchbox woodfill, which I normally have to chisel off my build plate it sticks so well, came off with a gentle pull and that was a 3 inch by 3 inch flat square which is basically designed to be grippy.
As far as holding the print material I tried getting the prints off the bed while it was still hot/warm and I might as well have been pulling the sea because they were stuck solid.

I also tried printing some small detail prints including some supports that I have had issues with getting them to stick prior to this, all stuck and held.

I'm basically all in on this stuff now.

Bonus - the print bed looks as good now as it did when I first sprayed it. A quick wipe with just plain old water removed any mark of the print even being there.

Pretty interesting. I will have to pick up a can sometime soon.

Any pics of the bed? Does it go on evenly?

3dPrintingMD wrote:Pretty interesting. I will have to pick up a can sometime soon.

Any pics of the bed? Does it go on evenly?

Ill snap a pic tonight, but yes provided you use basic spray paint technique (even sweeps from about 8 inches etc) it goes on perfectly smooth. The bottom of my prints are nice and smooth. I will say that when applying it - do it in a well ventilated area - this stuff has a VERY strong smell when going on. Once its cured though (I think they say 12 hours) there is no smell.

Do you know if it has to be the Graphite or will any color of the peel coat work?

-Steve

sthone wrote:Do you know if it has to be the Graphite or will any color of the peel coat work?

-Steve

Honestly I don't know as I only had the black available. My guess is as long as its basically the same stuff the color shouldn't make any difference. Maybe I should rock the gold version they have .

I picked up a can on my way home from work tonight to test out. I print a lot of black so I figured white would be better to see what was going on with the first layer.
The first layer went down nice and stuck pretty well. I had a slight bit of corner lift by the end but my z height was not set perfect so it's not a perfectly accurate test yet.

When I tried to pop the part off unfortunately the paint came with it as seen here. Again this was just a quick test.... I only let the paint dry for maybe 2 hours before printing on it and the bed still might have been a tad bit warm when I popped the print. I'm going to respray it in the morning it let it dry for 12 hours and give it another test tomorrow night.

I still have some high hopes for this.

Bummer to see that. Did you clean the surface you were spraying on to before you sprayed? I did 3 coats - fairly thickly and allowed each one to dry about 30 minutes between recoats (very warm here so quick drying to the touch). I then allowed the whole thing to set for at least 6 hours.

I hope the white works as well as the black for me

sthone wrote:

Test001.jpg

I picked up a can on my way home from work tonight to test out. I print a lot of black so I figured white would be better to see what was going on with the first layer.
The first layer went down nice and stuck pretty well. I had a slight bit of corner lift by the end but my z height was not set perfect so it's not a perfectly accurate test yet.

Test002.jpg

When I tried to pop the part off unfortunately the paint came with it as seen here. Again this was just a quick test.... I only let the paint dry for maybe 2 hours before printing on it and the bed still might have been a tad bit warm when I popped the print. I'm going to respray it in the morning it let it dry for 12 hours and give it another test tomorrow night.

I still have some high hopes for this.

I'm not trying to be negative, and you stated it yourself, but that Z is way to close, very very smashed, hence the trouble getting it off.

I saw a difference in adhesion and first layer height when I removed the kapton from the glass plate (after removal I had some corners coming up on a 3"x6" box). I releveled the bed and had no more problems.

How thick is 3 coats of this stuff? Could that be affecting things?

I'm still happy with Aqua Net on borosilicate but