Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?  

Clear is usually the easiest to print and white the hardest - the amount of pigment needed to make white means the flow characteristic is very different.

Cheerio,

RE: Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?

Thanks. To clarify I am looking for brand recommendations. I am looking for clear or colorless transparent and I wasn't sure if there was a distinction between these two. 

RE: Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?

I must say that all of the "clear" PLA I've tried was nowhere near the level of transparency I expected. I had much better success with PETG, e.g., IAMEI.

I agree with @fuchsr, 'clear' is usually a misnomer, uncoloured might be a better term.  I've tried several, they all worked, the result was translucent at best but I haven't tried any of the glass-finish tricks.  I would just go for cheap, generic and expect it to be ok.

White is tricky.  I've had best results with Filamentum but I had to print the whole lot at 215 deg.

Cheerio,

Cheerio,

RE: Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?

This is probably going a bit off topic but the highest degree of transparency I've achieved was with PVB and ethanol treatment. Looks like glass. 

RE: Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?

Having done more research, I'm now looking at PETG as a better choice than PLA. 

RE: Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?

Posted by: @sylviatrilling

Having done more research, I'm now looking at PETG as a better choice than PLA. 

I've had very good and consistent luck with both the RepRapper and the Overture so-called transparent PETg.

It's definitely not crystal clear, but for what I use it for (mostly windows/door panes for model railroad buildings) it's great.

The windows and ticket booth (out of focus) in the theater facade below are good examples of what to expect

RE: Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?

Taulman T-Glase is one of the best transparent filaments.    I have used it to print vases and other thin walled objects that I wanted a near clear object. 

Having a high layer height helps with maintaining transparency.  A trick to hide the layer lines is to coat both sides of the vase with  3d-print epoxy like Smooth-On XTC-3D.

Here is the link to the T-Glase product specs.  https://taulman3d.com/t-glase-spec.html

This link shows a vase being printed on my printer using T-Glase. 

Posted by: @sylviatrilling

Having done more research, I'm now looking at PETG as a better choice than PLA. 

RE:

The clearest PLA I've used to date is PolySmooth (Transparent)

The in PETG It's Overture3D (Transparent)

In ABS, well truthfully it was Paramount3D transparent, however they have discontinued it, I haven't found one to replace it yet but I'm looking. ABS is one of the best clear products you can use with regard to FFF/FDM printing, if you need a hard surface, as apposed to TPU

The all time clearest, and still reigning champion of all the clear filaments I've ever printed (and that's a lot) is NinjaFlex TPU (Water)

But these guys are all correct, nothing printed on FFF/FDM is ever going to be really clear without lots of post processing. They are mostly just translucent to varying degrees.

Regards

Swiss_Cheese

(examples)

Sorry didn't have ABS samples available when I find a new one I like I'll make more.

25.4mm = 1" nominally

Samples are 3.175mm thick = 1/8"

RE: Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?

Thanks to all, very helpful. I ordered the Polysmooth which is actually PVB, not PLA, but prints with similar settings.  Smooth with IPA sounds good. I have a drybox that will dry as it prints. 

I got a bee in my bonnet to combine the mixed media art I used to do  with my printed sculpts. I will be experimenting with no-color translucent prints then painted with clear gesso and watercolor.  What I am after is the subsurface scattering of light. So I didn't need anything clear as glass, just something that will allow light to go in and out with a minimum of infill artifacts showing through. I am really excited about this new direction. 

RE: Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?

I can't wait to see what you do. 😀 

RE:

Posted by: @sylviatrilling

Having done more research, I'm now looking at PETG as a better choice than PLA. 

Have you seen the How to print with glass thread? There was a deep dive into various techniques that might be helpful.

• One tip I learned from the old plastic model maker days: Dipping transparent/translucent plastic into something like acrylic floor polish does much the same thing as some of the more cumbersome "smoothing" techniques. A clear gesso should do much the same. Here's a quick example with the right half dipped:

• Any sort of infill pattern will greatly impact transparency. You'll never get "clear" of course, but solid infill crossing patterns will affect the result greatly. This may be a good or bad thing, depending on your needs. Here are aligned (L) and crossed infill layers (R). Right side dipped on both.

• Solid infill patterns can be fun.

• Printing hotter improves transparency.
• Printing slower improves transparency.
• A wider nozzle with correspondingly wider extrusions can yield more transparent results. Again, this may be good or bad.

Also worth noting that the techniques for printing upright 3D pieces will be different than for flat sheets! See the linked thread for examples.

RE: Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?

Posted by: @bobstro

Have you seen the How to print with glass thread? There was a deep dive into various techniques that might be helpful.

I did indeed, see that thread and made some notes. I actually read it last week before I decided to get the translucent filament because it was so interesting and entertaining. I make complex organic forms, so I will be experimenting with your suggestions and will post what I find. I did my first prints with the polysmooth clear yesterday. I found that setting rectilinear aligned infill made a big difference. I was just now  slicing for a different model this morning and eager to get it started, but something made me look at the forum first. Thanks for summarizing and reminding me. I'm going with wider extrusions and hotter temps and a bit lower MVS for this moringing's print. And I am about to go do my weekly shopping and the acrylic floor wax is on my list. I can't wait to see! 

I'm liking the polysmooth very much so far. I am doing repeated passes with misting the IPA and it is working.

RE: Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?

Posted by: @sylviatrilling

 [...] And I am about to go do my weekly shopping and the acrylic floor wax is on my list. I can't wait to see! 

FYI - If you search on this topic, you'll find that scale modelers have recommended Johnson & Johnson Acrylic Floor Polish as the gold standard for years. Harder to find is the page that notes it has been relabeled as Pledge Revive-It!

RE: Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?

I am so enjoying this clear polysmooth and the Pledge Revive-it makes a world of difference. I am experimenting with adding copper (paint, wire or metal leaf) to the back or inside to see the metallic elements through the 'glass'.  I'm really putting to use what I have been learning lately about slicing from the forum.

RE: Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?

Looking good Sylvia, I especially like the Top piece. 

RE: Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?

Posted by: @sylviatrilling

I am so enjoying this clear polysmooth and the Pledge Revive-it makes a world of difference. I am experimenting with adding copper (paint, wire or metal leaf) to the back or inside to see the metallic elements through the 'glass'.  

I was surprised how nice those prints can look when underlit. There are some very inexpensive LED lighting options. I'm sure @jsw can make some suggestions based on his railroad modeling. Are you printing those with the 1 perimeter hollow configuration? They look very good.

RE: Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?

Most of my LEDs are just static or off/on and for illumination.

LEDs are very simple to work with, usually cheap, and run on low voltages and have very little current draw and power dissipation.

If you want to see some more creative LED applications, surf the Adafruit site.

www.adafruit.com

Driving LEDs with the Feather series of very inexpensive microcontrollers (think enhanced Arduino) is becoming very popular.

RE: Recommendations please for clear/transparent white PLA?

Posted by: @sylviatrilling

I am so enjoying this clear polysmooth and the Pledge Revive-it makes a world of difference.

I just noticed the mention of Pledge Revive-It while preparing to try out Polysmooth filament for the first time.

So far I've found Revive-It in two versions -- one in an aerosol can with "amber and argan scent," the other in a pump bottle "with orange oil." Any ideas on what works best for our purposes? Thanks much.