Versatile Plastic (WSF) Model and Surface Preparation

There have been about 47 threads where someone discussed the best methods of preparing Shapeways WSF material for painting, and after a while the thread floats downward in this list never to be found again. Our members have experimented with everything from thinned PVA glue, floor wax, multiple spray coats, tack-coats (looking at you Clipper), sanding, melting, and spackle.

Let's gather all these good tips in one sticky thread. If you have wisdom to share on this topic, please follow up here. Please note that this topic can also include de-warping WSF models that have been bent during shipping.

You might also find some tips on the Shapeways forums under Finishing Techniques.

Thank you for this!

.PVA method

1. Dilute (3 pts PVA, 1 pt water) PVA brushed on. Takes about 2 mins. Wait for 24 hrs.
2. Nailfile or emory board for 30 secs on rough spots. Those with Dremel tools, use a very fine sanding attachment and low power.
3. Repeat steps 1-2 twice more.
4. Undercoat with acryllic paint. Takes about 2 mins. Wait a day to dry. Save time by undercoating in CDL. I use an Ivory spray.

Examples:

http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/att...9&d=1479784282
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/att...0&d=1481782270
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/att...1&d=1480398686
http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/att...2&d=1480398718

Warping: once in a while you'll get a WSF plane from Shapeways that has gotten deformed from the pressures put on it during shipping. If it's broken (say, struts are snapped), you should just take a picture and send it to Shapeways support. They're very good about sending out replacement models: they've got a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

If the warping is minor, you can frequently recover from it by letting the model sit for a while immersed in hot water. Hot tap water can do the trick, but hotter water tends to do better -- you can heat up the water in the microwave or oven (in an appropriate container like Pyrex). [Or, based on a post I saw elsewhere, just sit it outside in the Australian summer. ;) ] If using a microwave, for safety, you can put a toothpick or something in the water to act as a boiling-starter, though you're not trying to get it to the boiling point. The WSF plastics are heatproof to 80°C/176°F -- you'll want to use a candy thermometer or similar to make sure you don't overheat the water and melt the print completely. (Of course, water that hot can scald, so use appropriate care.) If you're feeling handy, you can pull the hot plane out of the water with forceps or something and give them some gentle pressure to help things back into shape (wear gloves), but sometimes just the hot bath will do the trick.

After a bath or three in hot water I've found that many planes with minor warping return to their original shape.

Here is an example of the hot water treatment to fix a bent WSF plane. I ordered 28 planes recently and only one of them was badly warped: An Austrian Lloyd C.II.
Attachment 222527

I put a bowl of water in the microwave and heated it up 30 seconds at a time until the water was about 165F (checking with a candy thermometer), then gave it a good hot-water soak and a little gentle pressure when it was warm. The result is quite acceptable:
Attachment 222528 Attachment 222529

No pictures, but I have had good results with the clear floor wax method. I use 3 or 4 coats, then prime.
Karl

How to Prep and paint Shapeways Models.

By request I have repeated my painting tips here so we can have em all in one place, enjoy

First step is to seal the fig both to fill in the gaps between plastic particles and to add strength to the model. I use Future floor polish to do the trick. I coat them around 6 times with light coats of polish and let each coat dry well before doing it again. The trick is to try and even out the surface without filling in all the detail.

After it fully dries I use a flex file (U shaped handle with a thin strip of sandpaper covering the open end) To sand off the grainyness. Main targets are wing surfaces, tail surfaces, and the body of the plane. Pay close attention to the leading and trailing wing edges as that is where you can over sand and take out detail or change the shape of the wing. Prep work is vital before the first drop of paint hits the model.

After sanding it is prime and base coat with my paints (mostly army painter brand).

After the paint dries I use a wash of 90% water with roughly 10% future floor polish and black paint for pigment (Known as magic wash on the old Flames of War website) THis pools in the low points making the higher detail stand out.

After it fully dries I do a second wash with Warpainter Soft Tone (Small bottle- water based) As I like the double wash effect. It covers the whole model with a soft sepia tone giving it that dirty look. Be careful to not glob it or let it pool on the wing edges as it dries though.

Then I decal the model and use decal setter to properly get them to hug the surface of the model. If you do not have decals Miscmini here on the website can fix you up, he seems to do some requests and his decals work great.

For the final stage I dust them using Tamiya Dusting compacts (looks like a makeup compact and works the same way) The dusting highlights the raised ares and give the model that gritty / Dusty look.

Final step is a dull cote flat sealer spray. The flat sealer makes the details pop and the colors look more real.

Attachment 228319

Attachment 228320

See also Clipper's tack-coat/wet-coat method described in this thread: https://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/sh...per-Way-Part-2

Many thanks to Reduced Air Fact for pointing me to this thread.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ReducedAirFact

Warping: once in a while you'll get a WSF plane from Shapeways that has gotten deformed from the pressures put on it during shipping. If it's broken (say, struts are snapped), you should just take a picture and send it to Shapeways support. They're very good about sending out replacement models: they've got a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

If the warping is minor, you can frequently recover from it by letting the model sit for a while immersed in hot water. Hot tap water can do the trick, but hotter water tends to do better --
After a bath or three in hot water I've found that many planes with minor warping return to their original shape.

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I've had a few which just won't return to shape, but I found a way to "force" them.

I routinely use the 'Klear' floor polish method, giving each mini 2 - 3 coats, allowing them to dry thoroughly between treatments.
Rough areas can be subjected to a file, but recent purchases have been "smooth" enough that I haven't needed to use any files.

If a plane has wing droop, I lay it upside-down on the workbench, with a single matchstick under each wing tip, and enough glued-together matchsticks under the centre of the upper wing to instill the correct dihedral.

I then coat the upper and lower wings with "Klear", and add coins to the wingtips to hold them down.
When the model is dry, I repeat the process.
When it is once more dry, I remove the coins and the matchsticks, and, lo and behold, the model has 'dried' in the correct droop-less configuration!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ReducedAirFact

See also Clipper's tack-coat/wet-coat method described in this thread: https://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/sh...per-Way-Part-2

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Hi Daryl

Can you say if Clippers method works also with the PA 12 (Grey) models from Shapeways. I have three of yours sitting here, and I am wondering how I should prepare them. I am able to get the Rust-Oleum that is recommended on Clippers' thread. Thanks for any advice.

Ian

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Swiss_Toni

Hi Daryl

Can you say if Clippers method works also with the PA 12 (Grey) models from Shapeways. I have three of yours sitting here, and I am wondering how I should prepare them. I am able to get the Rust-Oleum that is recommended on Clippers' thread. Thanks for any advice.

Ian

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I'm not sure, as almost all my planes are sitting unpainted. (Maybe I can correct that someday, but for now I'd rather design new ones.) I would assume most of the methods for WSF/Versatile Plastic would work for PA12 too, but I haven't experimented with them.

Others here have more experience with painting them up...maybe they can chime in.

Ian - this doesn't precisely answer your question since my method is different, but I can say I have prepped PA12 gray and versatile white models then primed them and have been unable to tell the difference. I think despite appearances the gray PA12 is smoother to begin with but both types work fine.

I buy cheap, clear, glossy spray, usually Rust-Oleum, and do two coats (fairly thick but not runny) on the bottom and three on top, waiting about 10 minutes between coats and allowing at least an hour before I flip it over. I prime with cheap spray can also, usually a Rust-Oleum. For sealer I do a coat of the glossy spray then a couple coats of a matte spray.

Here's a close-up of a gray PA12 FE2b Reduced Aircraft Factory model in progress if that helps:

Attachment 303928

Thanks for the advice and help.

I love this forum, everyone is so helpful.

I have a can of Tamiya Fine Surface Primer which I'm thinking of using to prep Shapeways white plastic material. This product works well on styrene. Will it work on the Shapeways white naterial?

That should work just fine, Larry. When I looked it up it reportedly works fine with resin models too. I would wash/rinse the models with dishsoapy water to get any mold release agent off them first. Let them dry thoroughly and you should be good to go.