Spending time sanding 3D prints is a thing of the past. Reduce your time prepping prints for paint or just prepping them by using card (or cabinet) scrapers! These little guys can quarter your time prepping 3d prints. Period.

Sanding 3D prints to get rid of layer lines takes FOREVER. But sanding 3D printed pieces is what takes them from looking like a 3D printed piece to looking like an actual prop. I was watching a carpentry video when it hit me...I should try card scrapers!

What are card/cabinet scrapers? They are thin pieces of sprung or stainless steel with a burr on one or more edges to make them sharp. Carpenters use them to shave cabinets and luthiers use smaller versions while making instruments.

Supplies

Here's a video I made on the process. Don't forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell while you're there.

Big Scrapers: https://amzn.to/3kkR9He

Little Scrapers: https://amzn.to/3jmZPLK

Burnishing tool: https://amzn.to/3kUQ0pA

3D handle print: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:156...

Step 1: Cabinet Scrapers

These card scrapers shave 3D prints. They don't sand them. What does this mean?

You get a really nice, smooth surface.
You can take off a lot of material really FAST.

When I say a lot of material really fast, not in the sense that it is ruining or changing the dimensions of your print. Fast in the sense that you can take off layer lines in seconds. You can smooth your prints much more quickly than spending hours of sanding, graduating through different grits from coarse to fine.

Traditional card scrapers are quite big. The first time I used them, I put this handle in my vise.

Luthiers (craftspeople who build or repair instruments) use a miniature version of cabinet scrapers. They are a lot thinner and more flexible than regular cabinet scrapers, but if you are working on smaller prints, they are amazing.

Step 2: Sharpen Your Cabinet Scrapers

This is very fast, simple explanation of how to do this. I highly recommend that you watch/follow an online tutorial on how to do this: https://www.stewmac.com/video-and-ideas/online-resources/how-to-install-and-repair-instrument-binding-and-purfling/how-to-sharpen-a-scraper.html

File down all the edges.
Lay the cabinet scraper down flat and run the burnisher over the edge at an angle. You need to use some pressure. This will create a burr.
Tilt the scraper up 90 degrees and use the burnisher to push the burr in the other direction.

Step 3: Time Comparison

Handle:

The first handle picture is after 10-15 minutes of scraping. This level of finishing would have easily taken me about an hour of sanding. I roughed up the surface slightly with 120 grit sand paper, just to give the paint something to stick to. Then I applied three coats of paint. The result is mind blowing (second picture).

Flux Capacitor:

I've been making Flux Capacitors. The boxes are all 3D printed because it's cheaper to print them than to buy the boxes. The first time I made one of these, it took me 4-5 hours to sand the box to get it ready for paint. The next one I made, I used it the card scrapers. After 30 minutes, I was ready to paint!

Step 4: Next Steps

I've been experimenting with making my own scrapers. I took this old paint spatula, cut a nice rounded shape and sharpened it. I plan on covering how to do this in the future and showing you all some of the other cool things I've been doing.

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