New to 3d Printing - Flash Forge First Printer - Questions

[JohnnyV]

1. Cleaning the print bed.. I used a "glue" type application that came with the printer on my print bed and now I need to clean it off but am worried about hurting the print bed itself.. is cleaning just with alcohol recommended?

Alcohol or acetone works just fine.

2. How to get prints off the bed? My first two prints I felt like I had to literally Pry it off the print bed. Surely I'm missing something on how to get the prints off the bed. I've read about using Painters Tape, hair spray etc.. is there a guide or guidance on this?

It varies with material and the bed adhesion method you are using. Mine are always difficult to remove. You can pick up a thin sharp edged scraper or "3D print removal tool" from amazon or a hardware store - these tend to help. Wedge them in around the outsides of your prints and they will pop off easier. I personally recommend upgrading to a glass bed so you can remove the bed from the machine. It makes it easier to handle the part and remove it safely.

3. First few layers are "smaller" than the rest. This one I am unsure of how to explain, I printed a test cube (20mm) and the bottom layers appear to be "tapered" in almost like the "square" was smaller than the subsequent layers.. When looking it appears maybe the first 2 or 3 layers are like this.. the Top layers when finishing the cube appear perfectly square

Sounds like maybe you are leveling your bed a bit too low. Try making it a little tighter against the paper.