Cleaning plastic

[Crizza]

Hello,

I recently got a delievery from "Pop goes the Monkey". Bits looked clean and clear, then I read the information about their plastic and decided I would clean them in hot water and dish soap. Afterwards the bits showed a withe film, which I can scratch off with a finger nail.

Does anyone had a similar experiance? I could prime them and see what happens.

Rereading the description on their page would suggest I cleaned them with isopropyl alcohol, but I didn't, but the reaction looks that way.

 

Any ideas? I could give aceton a go, but I'm afraid making it worse.

Edited August 17, 2021 by Crizza

[Imren]

The only material for miniatures you can safely use acetone on is pewter metal.

 

Pop goes the monkey usually produces their bits out of 3D printers, I'd expect them to clean off unhardened resin before shipping.

 

Anyways, a couple of years ago I bought jump packs (made from transparent 3D printed resin) from them which I washed i dish soap and warm water as well, I canoot remember if I got any film on them but they hold the primer and paint coats well and I still use those minis for gaming without issue.

 

To be safe I suggest you try to clean off a hidden area of a bit with IPA and see what happens, 3D resin printed pieces are meant to be cleaned with IPA so I don't think IPA should harm them. Acetone will most liekly do.

[Crizza]

Point is, I ordered plastic, not resin from them and it looks exactly like this after cleaning them in hot water:

But this happened after I soaked them.

They write to dip the bits in aceton for 5 minutes the most.
Have to read the ingredients of nail polish remover, if this has acetone but no IPA parts, I'll give it a try.
 

[Rik Lightstar]

PGtM only do 3d prints as far as I know, so it will be resin not plastic.

 

The white film can happen when you rinse the models with IPA to remove an uncured resin, it's essentially sediment from the IPA rinse, I'd suggest a quick rinse in some fresh IPA. 

 

I've not tried Acetone on 3d print resin, but I can when I get home as I have some misprinted pieces.

 

Rik

[Crizza]

I ordered smooth fine detail plastic, trust me, just checked the order.
I've cleaned two shield with nail polish remover and it seemed to yieled results.

https://imgur.com/s48KPUA

The link shows two shields cleaned roughly with nail polish remover, the other three are as they turned aout after rinsing.

https://popgoesthemonkey.com/pages/cleaning-fine-detail-plastic-models

That links says quite clearly not to use IPA with the bits.

Guess I'll spend the night cleaning all bits :D

[Arkhanist]

The reason not to use IPA is not the parts as such, but IPA reacts with the wax supports used by the shapeways printer (it melts off) - rather than lots of hard supports. It's not the same process as home DLP 3d printers.

 

I'd suggest plain hot water and gentle scrubbing with a toothbrush. The heat will soften any wax residue, and the toothbrush to remove it. It may be your soap had something that reacts with the wax. A cheap sonic cleaner should also work for the same reason.

Edited August 18, 2021 by Arkhanist

[Subtle Discord]

Having worked with this type of print on several occasions, you should be fine to wash and gently scrub them with 90%+ Isopropyl and a soft brush which should dissolve the wax better than hot water and/or detergent. Everything PTGM produces is through Shapways which 3D prints everything to order via their own facilities and through a network of 3D print contractors; the High/Ultra Detail process is done with a PolyJet printer which, as mentioned, uses a supporting wax during the print process; it's useful in some ways and very annoying in others. You can use either water (usually with a high pressure jet that blasts it away) or alcohol to remove it. Yes, it's prone to 'weep' the wax and get fuzzy which is one of the main reasons why I'm not fond of the process, along with the usually obvious line that's produced by the boundary between waxed surfaces and surfaces that aren't waxed. Once cleaned and primed they should be fine, but if you leave them unpainted for a long time you might find the fuzz returning and it will require another quick cleaning.

 

Like it or not, its all plastic and perfectly honest to call them plastic components, they're just a different type of plastic that uses UV light to be hardened rather then another chemical reaction or simple heat to liquefy the material before moulding.

 

EDIT: Interesting. I should have had a look at the link before I wrote, but I'm not sure I fully buy it. I've seen the chalky build-up before cleaning or on parts that were clean and it just built up on its own, and I then resorted to trying alcohol in an effort to get rid of it, it didn't appear to be the cause. Granted, I stopped working with PolyJet printed parts for just this reason, I hate dealing with the wax surfaces and how strange they can be. Note, if it's only cloudy and surface is still smooth, it's just cosmetic and should vanish under a layer of primer. If it's rough and chalky you'll need to scrape it way, as mentioned in the link, and a stiff brush usually can do most of the heavy lifting. Cut the bristles down on an old toothbrush if you need something stiffer but still somewhat gentle.

Edited August 19, 2021 by Subtle Discord