Painting 3D prints

 The table I posted last week was a 3D print that I painted to make look even cooler. Painting 3D prints is relatively easy and requires a few supplies! It's a great way to rescue a print that may be a bit wonky.

Primer: I use rustoleum sand-able primer. I'm biased though...

Sand paper: to sand down any rough spots.

Paint: Once primed you can use acrylics or continue with spray paints. It really depends on the finish you want.

Painting with acrylics:

The table and chairs started out in a bit of rough shape. They were all rejects. The chairs were missing their crossbar between the legs because it broke out while removing support. The table had a massive bit of stinging right through the top. I sanded the top down a bunch until it felt smooth.

Then I gave everything a healthy coat of primer. Sanded, then primed again. 

(Here's one of the places I might of changed my process. The chairs turned out to be an absolute pain to paint especially since I wanted to two-tone them. Ideally I would have spray painted on an appropriate color for the backs and legs to make life easier.) Instead I painstakingly painted on 3 coats of white acrylic paint before giving up because it just wouldn't hide well and putting the light blue paint on top.

To make the wood look I used light coats of various brown acrylics (raw sienna, yellow ochre, burnt umber) to create depth of color and by keeping my brush strokes going in the same direction it mimicked a wood grain. I finished it off with a coat of polyurethane in clear satin.

The blue was some leftover rustoluem chalked in serenity blue (my favorite color of the ones we made). 

The doughnuts and plates came from hobby lobby. The cups and coffee pot were bought from factory direct crafts online. Luckily it seems like a lot of 1:12 food stuff can pass for 1:9 scale.