Quote Originally Posted by Serena View Post
Cool. Keep us updated.

I will definitely check that out- thanks for the tip! Especially since last night I tore my tape wedging a print off. Grrr.... retaping that kapton is something I really don't enjoy doing.
When I got my (first) glass bed, I was concerned about how to apply the kapton tape. I'm afraid I didn't keep the link, but Googling how to apply kapton tape turned up a Youtube clip that is an excellent solution.

This is not suitable for the built-in bed, as it involved liquid, which will not play well with the bed heater.

parts: bed, bowl of water, healthy dollop of dish washing soap (liquid), your kapton tape, old credit card

Wash the removable bed and dry it, to clean it off. In a small bowl, mix some water and a healthy dollop of dish-washing detergent. Measure out your kapton so it's ready to go, put the bed on a towel to sop up the excess liquid, and then liberally coat the bed with the soapy water. I mean, a total lot of liquid on the bed.

When you place the kapton tape on the bed, it will not stick. It will float on the water, letting you align the edges. Once it's square to the edges, hold it down in one spot and use the edge of the credit card to gently squeegee out the water from under the tape. You'll need to do this multiple times before it starts to stick to the bed, but when it starts to stick on the end you're squeegeeing, squeegee the end you've been holding. Any air bubbles will be driven out along with the soapy water, so you wind up with a nice flat bed with no bubbles. if it shifts the first few times you squeegee, you can just reposition it, since it's still floating on some water.

After the entire bed is 'dry', I fold the tape under the ends and let it stick to the bottom of the bed to hold it in place. With my glass beds, I try to make sure that the overhang folded under the bed is longer on one end than the other, so I can orient the glass the same way after I remove it to wash of the glue stick I use for my abs printing. The plates I have are pretty even, but one of them is off by about .2mm between one corner and it's opposite, so I level it in one orientation and then always install it the same way after that. If you're doing this with an aluminum bed, I suppose you could just write 'R' on the right side with a permanent marker, since the tape is transparent.

That's it. It works flawlessly for me. I do a preheat cycle to drive out any water that may remain under the bed.

I have 6" kapton. This should work with narrower strips, if you do one at a time. Once the kapton is stuck down, it doesn't seem to mind repeated washing.

Cheers,

John