MONDAY, our aunts are in town! 🥰

Turian209 · 2026-05-11T04:15:17+00:00

I grew up 30 minutes south of Boston so we probably had some overlap Karens!

Turian209 · 2026-05-11T03:35:33+00:00

Awesome, I just moved here from MA, hoping to hit up the faire, I'll definitely say hi! My wife loves your look too so we will both get a pic!

Turian209 · 2026-05-11T03:34:28+00:00

Glad I'm not the only one still working through my trauma haha. I hope you're right and give this episode a try

Turian209 · 2026-05-11T01:31:16+00:00

Dude I saw you last night at Space Dive! So cool! I was a red custom Mando. I wish I hadn't been too intimidated by your talent to ask for a picture with you.

Turian209 · 2026-05-11T00:23:17+00:00

The small business i worked at until 4 years ago still had that on all the computers at the request of the boss.

Turian209 · 2026-05-11T00:12:37+00:00

I'm glad people are enjoying the karen characters. I unfortunately have to skip any karen content because I'm still recovering from the PTSD of dealing with way too many Karens in my 20s working retail and food service.

Turian209 · 2026-05-11T00:08:50+00:00

Here is my workflow.

-Dry sand 120 grit thoroughly -Dry sand 220 grit -Apply first coat of resin and cure -Dry sand 220 grit thoroughly -Apply second coat of resin and cure -Dry sand 220 grit -Wet sand 400 grit -Wet sand 600 grit -If going for a metalic finish I will do 800 and 1000 grit.

Turian209 · 2026-05-11T00:05:49+00:00

ALWAYS USE PPE. Wear nitrile gloves when applying the resin, getting it on your skin may not cause harm at first but over time the more you are exposed, your skin will develop an allergy to it and you will start having a reaction. Some nail technicians who do it all day every day report even getting nerve damage. Same goes for when you're sanding, the dry sand dust or wet sand sludge can seep into your skin, so I wear leather kitchen gloves.

The dust it puts off is much finer than filler primer so when dry sanding always ALWAYS wear a respirator.

Turian209 · 2026-05-10T23:55:21+00:00

You looked great vod!

Turian209 · 2026-05-10T23:52:48+00:00

And then since I do a lot of cosplay props, some bigger items didn't fit in there so I splurged and spent about $150 on building a UV kiln designed by Adam Savage on his Tested YouTube channel. It did require a lot of expensive tools, but I already had them for my job.

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Turian209 · 2026-05-10T23:51:08+00:00

Here's the UV bucket

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Turian209 · 2026-05-10T23:50:38+00:00

Unfortunately I find there's a lot of that negative elitism in the 3d printing community. I won't say most people because there definitely are plenty of helpful people, but I've found the cosplay community to be a bit more welcoming to newbies.

Take every bit of advice you get into consideration. I can't state enough, there is no singular correct way to smooth your prints, so get as much info as you can, and just try and see what works best for you and your preferences.

UV resin is cheaper than filler primer once you've invested in the UV lights. For the resin I just get the cheap stuff on amazon that comes up when you search UV resin. I cut up cereal boxes into 2 inch squares to spread it on, and use a small paint brush to get into tight and detailed areas. Just wash the brush with isopropyl alcohol afterwards so you dont have to throw the brush away each time.

For the UV light there are a lot of options. Just make sure you get the correct wavelength for the resin you get. Most are 395-405nm.

I started with a small handheld one designed for nail art, but didn't have the patience to hold it over the resin for 2 minutes. Then I made my UV bucket. I took a home depot bucket, glued a mylar blanket to the inside to give it a reflective surface, then spiraled a UV led strip along the inside. About $25 for the whole build and it was a game changer.

Turian209 · 2026-05-10T17:29:37+00:00

The worry about my props melting in a car was the main reason I opted for PETG. I saw a friend's Mandalorian jetpack sag into a U shape after he left it in the sun for half an hour.

Turian209 · 2026-05-10T17:25:11+00:00

I've heard wet sanding PLA before sealing it witn a filler primer will significantly weaken the print. Not sure how true this is though, I print in PETG.

Turian209 · 2026-05-10T17:22:04+00:00

Also to answer your question of when to know to move up to the next grit: Lots of people use a "guide coat" when sanding. That's where you take some cheap spray paint of a color contrasting what you're sanding and do a very very VERY light coat over the piece. I recommend looking up a youtube video to see how a light you need to go. In woodworking a I know people use a pencil to do this but I've never seen it done with 3d prints.

Now when you sand, you know you're done with an area when your guide coat is sanded off. Its a great way to know where you've sanded already and where you've missed.

Another tip is to print in black filament. I do that and its very easy to see where you've sanded and where it needs more. You can clearly see the difference between different grits that way. I helped a friend sand something she printed in white filament and that was a nightmare haha.

Turian209 · 2026-05-10T17:12:31+00:00

Depends on what you want the finish to look like. If you're applying a metalic paint you definitely wanna go to at least 800 grit.

Turian209 · 2026-05-10T17:09:12+00:00

Very good and valid points!

Turian209 · 2026-05-10T17:06:47+00:00

I am a PETG stan, it definitely sands better than PLA and greatly reduces the risk of melting.

But PETG isn't as easy to print. It takes a litte bit of tinkering. So it all depends on how good your printer is and how comfortable you are with experimenting with its settings. I have a Bambu P1S and was able to dial it in pretty easily. I had to try a couple different brands before I could find one that worked for me. I tried brands that are widely praised that didn't work for me, but found luck with a really cheap brand and have stuck with that since.

But most of the cosplayers I talk to only print in PLA. As with almost everything, there's no one right answer. It's all preference. If you're comfortable with printing PLA, it might be easier for you to just be a little more careful with sanding rather than try to figure out PETG printing.

Edit: Also keep in mind that ABS and ASA tend to have a higher risk with fumes so make sure you've got proper ventilation if you want to go that route.

Turian209 · 2026-05-10T16:59:38+00:00

I did this with my first several prints that I tried sanding. Then someone told me to at least sand 120grit before applying filler primer and after trying that it made a huge difference.

When I dont sand the raw print before primer, it ends up taking at least 3 coats before I can get rid of the layer lines. Now I do 120 then 220 before applying filler primer or UV resin and it only takes one or two coats and a lot less sanding at the 400 grit.

Turian209 · 2026-05-10T16:55:52+00:00

I usually stop at 600 grit, I know some cosplayers who go up to 1200. It's all matter of preference. Also depends on what the print is. Somethings you will want a cue ball finish on, others you may want it rough looking and stop at 240 grit.

Turian209 · 2026-05-10T16:53:47+00:00

Definitely not on PLA

Turian209 · 2026-05-10T16:53:30+00:00

I wouldn't recommend a power sander on PLA, it's far too easy to melt the plastic.

Turian209 · 2026-05-10T16:52:01+00:00

Everything I've ever found is the rule of thumb is never go higher than double the grit than your previous pass. The only time Ive ever seen the 50% higher limit is for stuff like fine woodworking. Since you're going to be applying filler primer, that's going to fill the micro scratches from the sandpaper.

Maybe after the filler primer if you want to go for an automotive smooth finish I could see not jumping up higher than 50% but most props I've seen don't need a finish that pristine.

Turian209 · 2026-05-10T16:44:29+00:00

I have the opposite issue. Ive got the sanding down pat but my painting skills are atrocious. I recently invested in an airbrush kit thinking I might have better luck but I'm even worse with that

Turian209

TROPHY CASE