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Hi. I am now getting to grips with my 3D printer and simplify 3D. However i tried to paint one of my prints and got poor results. I just used acrylic paint on the sanded model. After some reading i notice that it is recommended that you use a printer and then spray paint. However do i need to use a specific primer that is designed for plastic or will any primer do? Also does the colour spray paint have to be for plastic or can i use any type? It might be a stupid question but as i am on a budget I don’t want to buy something that won’t work Thanks

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Hi there!

I’ve found primers specifically designed for plastic work the best for this type of work; once it’s primed with plastic primer, you can use any color/kind of paint on it and it will behave as if you were painting wood or canvas. Not only is the end result nicer than what you get when you skip the priming step, the paint job will last much longer, especially if you seal it. This is how I paint all my custom X-box controllers as well, and aside from being dropped, the paint job has held up over a couple years of use.

I use Montana Gold’s line of spray paint pretty much exclusively for painting work, and love their primer (serial T 2000 Plastic PR) and get it from Dick Blick’s website.

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Totally forgot about enamel paints, +1 for the advice from twlesner!

Testo paints for models also work great (which are enamel based)

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When using acrylic paints you should use a enamel base acrylic paint and you won’t need to use a primer beforehand. I use FolkArt enamel paints from my local craft store for my 3d printed character figurines as the paint only needs one coat and does well on any surface.

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Thanks all for the great suggestions. I have been searching and found Halfords to an Acrylic based primer that goes on white and isn’t too expensive. However now I am going to have a look about for a UK retailer that sells enamel based acrylic paint and see what the cost would be. I will never again use acrylic paint and a paint brush to paint with again. It is a nightmare trying to get the brush strokes out!

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HI,

is T2000 clear? I want to keep my models original color.