How often do you apply glue stick on heated glass? (PLA)
I recently opened new spool (different provider) and I had issues getting it to stick like my previous filament (before I used mix of hairspray and glue stick).
Right now on clean glass bed with fresh glue stick layer I get good adhesion, however next prints are not sticking anymore, need to re-apply glue stick again every print. I feel like eating through glue fast
It is my first experience with gluestick method and I wonder if that is expected?
I don’t understand this fascination with hairspray and glue sticks… In my 3 years of printing nothing but PLA I haven’t printed on anything but simple painter’s tape. Never had any adhesion issues. If anything I’ve had issues getting it off from time to time. Just put the nozzle close enough and overextrude the first layer… Always been enough for me.
I noticed that sometimes (different filaments vendors) painters tape is not great, so far every coat of glue makes good prints, even hard to remove.
When I started printing (3 years ago), clean glass with 60C bed was good too.
I clean the bed after each print and then reapply whatever I require for the next print fresh each time. I may get lazy and not clean it first, but I always reapply glue or hairspray prior to a new job.
I print directly to the glass, PLA sticks nice for me and no warping issues when it’s a heated bed at about 60c. Used to put Kepton tape but found it unneeded when PLA is involved.
I found that the glue (UHU stick) already on the bed can be reliably reused simply by adding a small drop of water and evenly spreading the glue around on the bed with a small spatula.
Also, after each part is removed from the bed, there is an empty space where there is no glue on the bed, so I apply just a little bit to replace it.
And most importantly - I always firmly rub the glue with the small spatula until it gets very tacky.
The only downside to this method is that the glue can stick too well. I have sometimes broken finished prints trying to get them off the bed.
My theory on UHU glue is this:
It has 3 phases:
A slippery phase just off the stick.
A tacky phase after rubbing firmly - perfect for bed adhesion.
And a dry phase, when it hardens an hour or so after application.
The glue can be returned to phase 1, the slippery phase, with just a drop of water.
I use Elmers kids glue stick on a clean glass bed and simply rub it on just before I print, I don’ touch it with my fingers, no smoothing, no making soups of it and no drying and PETG prints great no blue tape no heated bed
I use the Elmer’s school glue (white PVA) mixed with water on a heated glass bed. Spread it out with a paper towel. A small $1 container has lasted me almost 3 years. I touch it up between prints, and prints pop off nicely after they cool down.
