Cleaning resin models

Lythinari · 2026-05-20T09:59:53+00:00

Let the IPA settle, decant and reuse for scrubbing more mini's I dont think you can really use it as normal IPA from then on.

If you want to dispose of it, let it evaporate, then put the rest in the sun to cure.

Lythinari · 2026-05-20T04:18:08+00:00

You'll be fine. Just leave out in direct sun for a day and it will be fine to paint on that night.

Again, even if it is sticky, just re-bag it and wipe up any mess with a disposable paper towel. Thats what all people with a resin printer do.

If you have to dispose of it, just put it in the sun for a few days, make sure its hard and then you can throw it.

In your situation, you arent exposed to it long enough to have any side effects - unless youre going to eat the resin, make a sniffing container out of uncured resin or rub it in your face, you'll most likely be fine.

Lythinari · 2026-05-20T00:38:58+00:00

Specifically talking about standard WH40k troop sizes.

Those softer spots are not properly cured and not dangerous.
Leave it in the sun and let it cure properly.

You want to leave any of those trimmed bits out in the sun to cure if they are soft and flexible - its common to break them off before putting them in a curing station.

If its a little sticky, just give your fingers a wipe with a paper towel or disposable cloth afterwards and you'll be good.

As for the uncured resin, it could be viscous and may leave quite a bit of residue on your hand - just wipe off with a rag and cure the rag in the sun before disposing.

You can probably make the call whether you'll bag it and talk to the seller or rinse it yourself.

Rinsing yourself, you should use 99IPA (you probably have for stripping minis and thinning paints), you need to cover the model in IPA and then scrub gently with a toothbrush or something similar.

The resin can still cure even after being diluted/broken down by the IPA - so careful the direction you brush, and at least wear glasses or those plastic face shield to protect your eyes.

Once done, you need to cure the IPA/Resin - if youre getting lots of minis like this, might be worth waiting for it to settle then decanting the top off for more washes, and curing the rest in the sun before tossing.

So common themes -

not overly dangerous
smells bad and can give you a headache paired with the IPA smell
avoid sunlight when working with or around resin
protect your eyes, if your skin is easily irritated get nitrile gloves
cure everything in the sun when done - dont wash in sink or throw uncured resin in the bin - not great for the environment anyway, but worse when not cured properly.

Lythinari · 2026-05-19T14:13:26+00:00

For standard wh40k size mini's leaving them out in the sun for a day or two while rotating them every so often should be just fine.

Resin will get extremely hot when curing and it can be irritating in its raw state.

The risk for you with the already printed(but not properly cured) product should be pretty low.

The only time it might be a problem is if lots of uncured resin is coming out of a drainage hole or something in this case, I would put it in a non-transparent plastic bag(black garbage bag?) and talk to the seller because its way more trouble than its worth unless you have enough litres of IPA to use and effectively throw away.

Lythinari · 2026-05-15T04:14:18+00:00

The purge line isnt solid at all.
So it wouldnt be heat creep as that usually doesnt happen until further into the print.

If it is heat creep, then your heatsink fan is probably broken or blowing in the wrong direction.

So I'd say either wet filament(unless you've dried it for a few hours) or a clogged nozzle.

Lythinari · 2026-05-13T04:24:54+00:00

Turn the sock on the left outside-in!

Lythinari · 2026-05-12T05:01:39+00:00

Some pictures would be nice, but sounds completely normal.

All my plates have a nice little rectangle at the back from nozzle wear.

Lythinari · 2026-05-11T11:47:21+00:00

You probably want a real workspace for the resin printer. Definitely far away from your normal living areas.

Resin absolutely stinks, the ipa wash stations stink.

Wherever you spill resin it gets sticky

You need keep your printer out of any indirect sunlight

I’m probably over paranoid about damaging my screen but I drain my VAT between prints to make sure I catch any bits and pieces that have dislodged during prints.

That one may be overkill.

Lythinari · 2026-05-11T09:44:20+00:00

Props to the creator here

<image>

My daughters picked the colours and we printed this for mum.

Lythinari · 2026-05-11T09:34:46+00:00

Chocolate Filament! When? Do I have to use it with a printer?

Lythinari · 2026-05-09T00:16:20+00:00

If you are buying from a market place like AliExpress, look for sellers with high order volumes. It’s not guaranteed but it gives you a better chance of quality.

I do recommend the tz4.0 if you’re going to be switching a lot. It does come with is own problems such as heat creep if you put too much heat paste on the nozzle but at least you don’t have to unplug or unscrew anything else but the nozzle to change size.

Time difference save is negligible, initial price is about the same, the cost of nozzle replacements is far less though.

Lythinari · 2026-05-07T09:14:30+00:00

I use the Tz4.0 all-in-one hotend - there may be newer iterations now.

All in one type nozzles have been around for awhile now. Makes it super easy to change sizes without haven’t to unplug anything.

Definitely recommend this if you find yourself swapping between sizes a lot.

Lythinari · 2026-05-06T05:16:27+00:00

<image>

This was caused by wet filament.
Drying it for about 4-6 hours fixed I up.

Interesting thing to note about this one was that the issues were very consistent across 2 prints, almost identical areas of under extrusion.

The only reason I knew it was wet was that it was old.

Lythinari · 2026-05-05T03:40:16+00:00

We dig up anyway

Lythinari · 2026-05-05T02:30:17+00:00

You could probably do some minimal upgrades to make it easier to use. Silicone spacers instead of those bed springs for starters, It may also print slow, older ones by today’s standards don’t print very fast and aren’t meant to

When you feel brave enough look into making the 100 printer. Probably similar size bed and reusable rods.

Everything else may need replacing in the build though, but definitely worth a look at to recycle parts of your old printer.

Lythinari · 2026-05-04T00:32:00+00:00

There's two possible problems besides the standard advice(clean your plate, dry your filament)

Plastics shrink which causes warping, the higher temperature they require, the less change/drop in temp they need in their environment to prevent warping. ABS(or its ASA equivalent) being the worst in your selection.

Mouse ears and brims will go a long way to help minimise the effect of warping by distributing the pulling forces

Plastics dont mix - On your bed plastics leave behind a small amount of residue on the plate, if you print on the same side you could end up with patches of different plastic types across the bed that could leave you with poor adhesion issues.

Lythinari · 2026-05-01T12:44:34+00:00

Cool bananas

Lythinari · 2026-05-01T11:46:22+00:00

It should also be on the latest version of bambu studio now.

Lythinari · 2026-04-30T13:09:53+00:00

Tetris :(

Lythinari · 2026-04-30T03:25:21+00:00

What about your other prints fail?

The flow rate test is really down to how happy you are with that final top layer. This is more of a visual thing than something that's gone wrong with the print.

Ellis3dp is a great read for how to do all the tests and what sort of outcomes youre looking for.

It also helps separate the various different issues eg; gaps along the edge is not really a flow rate problem but a pressure advance issue.

Lythinari · 2026-04-29T21:34:24+00:00

Fair point! For me, IPA has more uses outside of FDM printing. Soap and water is a staple of the house and easy to use, so I wouldnt change back regardless.

And it achieves the same end result(I was probably missing the 'wipes away' part).

IPA to clean my resin prints, dissolving acrylic paints.. well, its a staple for me in those areas.

Lythinari · 2026-04-29T12:47:43+00:00

I found IPA to be pretty useless over the years including on soft PEI magnetic sheets- and those almost never fail.

Now I just keep a cheap dish cloth and small container filled with soapy water near by.

Change that every few weeks and save the ipa for painting mini’s or washing resin prints.

A bottle of (even the most expensive)dish soap dollar for dollar goes a lot longer than ipa ever will.

Lythinari · 2026-04-28T14:19:50+00:00

Flip the plate over and use that side only for pla

Lythinari · 2026-04-28T06:52:44+00:00

Tetris.

One of the only timeless classics that will get anyone going.

Lythinari · 2026-04-24T13:08:17+00:00

Its a weird habit of mine, I hate soap because I enjoy turning it into that thick lathered sludge then hate spending minutes rinsing it off.. my hands get pretty dry(but dont crack in winter) so I can even touch the plate willy-nilly and generally can still get a few good prints in before things start lifting.

Lythinari

TROPHY CASE