Has anyone used tetrahydrofuran to smooth PLA parts ?
Does it work as well as Acetone on ABS ?
No, but I have used a glue based on tetrahydrofuran to glue some PLA parts together. Worked well.
There’s some notes on this on Protoparadigm’s blog: http://www.protoparadigm.com/blog/2013/06/vapor-smoothing-and-polishing-pla-with-tetrahydrofuran-thf/ . The consensus is that THF works to smooth PLA but is nasty biologically, much more so than acetone
As @Andrew_Litt say’s THF is nasty stuff. Probalby best to stick to ABS and acetone if you wnat shiny parts.
I don’t know, from what I’ve read THF is as nasty as Acetone, but not worse.
Well, actone by itself isn’t really harmful - in fact, it is generally recognized as safe, GRAS, by the FDA.
THF, on the other hand, is likely carciogenic. Full report from the FDA here: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/UCM216251.pdf