Bright Metallic Needed

[Talon 3D]

Hi All,
I have been looking for a nice bright metallic filament that does not break the bank.
Most of them are usually dull when done.
I really want something like that bright copper anvil made out of some kickstarter material but I have not found anything like it.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

[awerby]

None of those filaments will be very bright, because they need to be mostly plastic to work as filament. You can either use metallic spray paint, or go to electroplating, like the Aardvark did in the thread below this one: http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...-it-s-alchemy-)

[Talon 3D]

I've been watching his thread for this.
Been quite interesting.

[iDig3Dprinting]

It is possible to get a shiny finish with a lot of effort on the colorfabb filaments. You will need to sand it well and then polish it well. We did a horse sculpture in CopperFill. The problem comes when there are a lot of details to the model as it is difficult to sand the nooks and crannies of the print and so harder to get these parts shiny. If it was a simple model then you should be able to get a good shine but you will need a lot of elbow grease.

@Curious Aardvarks method is going to be the way you need to go if you want a truly metallic surface.

[curious aardvark]

try the reprapper tech metallic filaments. Quite different to colorfabb, they actually look metallic without any messing around.
I've had samples from globalfsd, but so far I can't find anyone other than reprapper themselves, who are selling the larger rolls.

[Talon 3D]

Thanks for the advice you guys. I appreciate it. I am getting some samples of the reprapper to try.
I think also iDig is right that on some of my prints a bit of post processing all is good on forms without tiny details.
I really like Colorfabb but the price has been rocketing through the roof. The brass looks really nice.
Thanks again.

[awerby]

Metallic, perhaps, but hardly "bright". If you're going to publicize filaments from that site, you might as well try them yourself and give a more informed opinion...

[ralphzoontjens]

Filamet is the best I have seen - 85% copper.
http://www.thevirtualfoundry.com

Otherwise try http://www.eumakers.com/en/3d-printe...cials/metallic
No copper but the aluminum is wonderful, these are very bright.

These are great as well: https://www.polyalchemy.com/collections/elixir-pla

[Talon 3D]

Very cool, thanks for the links.

Filamet is the best I have seen - 85% copper.
http://www.thevirtualfoundry.com

Otherwise try http://www.eumakers.com/en/3d-printe...cials/metallic
No copper but the aluminum is wonderful, these are very bright.

These are great as well: https://www.polyalchemy.com/collections/elixir-pla

[BoozeKashi]

ColorFabb BronzeFill and CopperFill can be as bright as you want them to be, but you have to put in the work. They do not come out of the printer that way. They come out looking kind of like clay and it takes a fair bit of polishing, just like any other metal to get them to shine. When metal is cast or forged or welded it does not come out looking shiny. There is no shortcut, it takes work.

There are no paints that are convincing, the RC hobby crowd has been searching and testing metallics for years and years. Some 'chromes' come sort of close, but not quite.

If you want easy shiny, but not cheap, there are spray coatings available that are almost the same as electroforming. Very convincing metallics but also very expensive. Near perfect detail preservation, but only worthwhile for your very best prints. The whole kit to get started runs around ~$300ish and you'll need to supply your own air compressor and have a well ventilated area.

Other options are electroplating and electroforming, both of which can be done DIY fairly easily, at least with copper and nickel with a bit of Google Fu. You will loose just a tiny bit of detail because you'll need to apply a graphite/acryilc paint mix on the piece before plating so the copper has something to 'stick' to. Not ideal for miniatures with high detail, but for medium size pieces or coins it's a very cool effect and not all that difficult.