Mini nail polish machine to smooth PLA?

[SkyKisser]

Hi
I am trying to find away to smooth PLA model after print. I have tried sand paper and it works well, maybe too well that it scratch off some color from the surface which makes it does not look very nice.
My wife suggested me trying out this little machine but I am not sure.
Do you guys think it will work better than sand paper and will not scratch off the color?
I really can use some advices. Thanks alot guys.

[Mjolinor]

You are not removing colour you are stressing the surface of the print. The colour goes all the way through. You can get the white to disappear by using a small heat gun carefully.

[Davo]

This is your answer.

You are not removing colour you are stressing the surface of the print. The colour goes all the way through. You can get the white to disappear by using a small heat gun carefully.

[SkyKisser]

You are not removing colour you are stressing the surface of the print. The colour goes all the way through. You can get the white to disappear by using a small heat gun carefully.

Thanks guys. I am such a noob. I just tried to heat it up with my lighter and the white does go away but a small heat gun would work much better in this case. Thanks again.

[SkyKisser]

Hey guys, if you dont mind I would like to ask another question related to the small heat gun. I am looking around and would like to know at what degree is good to remove the white thing after sanding on my PLA print? There's alot of 350-580'C heat gun, do you think that's over kill?
I'm trying to find something that offer around 200'C unless you think it's too low.
Thanks again.

[Alibert]

If you buy a cheap and cheerful digital hot air soldering iron you can set it to any temperature you like....

The cheapest option is a hand-held:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/220V-...5-31a91901d343

I have one of these which I use mainly for re-work, but which doubles as a shrink-sleeve heater and plastic heater/smoother:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2014-...8-a5ac199cb0d8

The latter one regulates as low as 100 Celsius....

[SkyKisser]

If you buy a cheap and cheerful digital hot air soldering iron you can set it to any temperature you like....

The cheapest option is a hand-held:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/220V-...5-31a91901d343

I have one of these which I use mainly for re-work, but which doubles as a shrink-sleeve heater and plastic heater/smoother:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2014-...8-a5ac199cb0d8

The latter one regulates as low as 100 Celsius....

You mind sharing what is the lowest temp setting for the first one? Thanks

[Alibert]

You mind sharing what is the lowest temp setting for the first one? Thanks

I have that one at work (only use it for heat shrink sleeving there) and it is evening here so I can't look. If you search around you may find some specs. What I remember is that you can regulate the heating part down to zero. Combined with the air flow you will get a temperature reading in the diplay.

The second one is a truly temperature controlled device. That is you set a temperature in the display with the buttons (100-450 C), and it will regulate the air temperature to just that. Works well and I use that one for some electronics re-work.

Do check that you buy one with the right voltage for your area. Mine is 230V, yours may be different (you do not have your location set in your profile).