Hatchbox wood infill face sanded down to 1600 grit. Looking very good 
I sanded by hand took a lot of hours… Probably should look into using some power tool…
Power tools don’t work well.
They melt the plastic.
Did you use dry sanding?
It doesn’t look like a very good job.
Consider using wood filler or spray-on-filler.
Have you looked into sandblasting? Sandblasting systems can be much faster, provide a better surface and can be, depending on the size and features, more cost-effective than power tools. Just make sure to use proper safety precautions (wear a dust respirator!!).
That would be an option, if you have a large workshop with compressed air that can get dirty and loud.
I was talking about investing in a proper sandblasting cabin. Depending on where you live they can be reasonably cheap (i.e. 110$) and contain the sandblasting dust so almost nothing gets out to potentially harm you. (Sandblasting dust can cause cancer, that’s why I wrote to wear a proper respirator.)
Well I think my point is that I suspect this particular filament does well with sanding and I always stop at grit 400. At that point it looks like cardboard so I was a bit disappointed… But 1600 gives you a very much different finishes it’s more polished and shiny.
@Folke_Schwinning still something you won’t set up in your living room and you still need a reasonable compressor. They don’t come at less then 97dB if you need >2 bar.
I use Micro Mesh a lot, down to 12.000 perfect finish, no noise, just needs some water and time.
Looks pretty nice! That must have taken forever.
I’ve tried using a Dremel, but it will melt the plastic, even at the lowest setting.
Try an agitator, for sanding parts. It vibrates a vat full of walnut shells. Add metal filings of your choosing, and you get a polish and patina at the same time! #unicronstudios Tips
@Jim_Inziello
Did you actually try that?
I had grit on a vibrating table and it doesn’t do anything to PLA because grit needs pressure and doesn’t work when it has the chance to simply move elsewhere.
A tumbler may work as long as your object has at least some mass but not a vibrating table.
the guys from #3dprintingtoday tried it and said it resulted in a great uniform sanding, after a few hours in there.
Do you have a link? All I find with them, is “industry news”. I bet they didn’t use a vibrating table but a tumbler or one of these machines where the part dives in and emerges at the other side just by streams.
3dPrinting Today is an excellant podcast. great for beginners to advanced.
NYC art
Yes, that’s a cheap rock tumbler.
So you have no link where 3dprintingtoday tried it themself and posted results and grit used?
Like I did when I tried it?
here, http://threedprintingtoday.libsyn.com/097_3dprinting_today http://www.harborfreight.com/dual-drum-rotary-rock-tumbler-67632.html and some screws, and walnut shells, no Idea what grit though
http://www.whirlinglight.com/tumble-coating-3d-prints-part-1/
http://threedprintingtoday.libsyn.com/097_3dprinting_today white page, no content. Just some navigation links.
There is some audio but no links or images to show the result and how they reached it.
I jogged around and at 14 minutes they talk about someone else doing something called “tumble coating”.
That guy reportedlytumbled with brass screws.
I can see how that works because the screws do have weight.
However I can also see that tiny details would never survive this.
No mention of walnut shells that are otherwise used for polishing heavy objects.
Sadly 3D printed objects are never heavy.
They mentions “our facebook” for images and references. (I try my very best to stay away from facebook.)
I’d really like to automate some of the sanding and I do have a strong vibrating table that can do 24/7 and some silicone carbide grit but it doesn’t work at all.
Here is that guy’s blog:
He makes very nice photos.
Here is the interesting part:
Sadly the results all look terrible.
Even the ones with a ceramic medium.
I can still see the layer lines after serveral days in the tumbler.
That’s nothing I would ever call finished when sanding and polishing for half an hour to get a much better result. When I’m halfway done I can see the room’s lights reflecting in the part.
When I’m done I can see my face in the part.