Review on Transparent Layer-Free Polymaker PolySmooth Filament by John Mejia

I saw this and Polysher on the 3D Printer Nerd YouTube channel about a week ago and decided to give it a try. I make a lot of 3D prints that I will paint. In the past I've been known to spend 40 hours sanding a print (well, primer, sand, rare). It's about double what I usually pay, but the time saved from fewer loops is definitely a major buying factor. learning curve) here are my observations about working with it. - Compared to the regular PLA brands I use, it feels a bit softer. It also appears to have slightly lower tensile strength and is less stiff, which can make it feel softer. To be clear, it's not soft, just softer. It grinds easier, but only slightly, than the regular brand. I've also noticed that I have to be a bit more careful when removing supports (especially when using a wall instead of wood). I really like the gauge on the reel which gives you an idea of how much you have. left on the spool. Unfortunately, it's small and doesn't have high contrast with a transparent coil. - I used Flashforge Finder and it worked great. - Having said that, I STRONGLY recommend paying attention to the settings they give you. The temperature range was the same as before, but I got much better and sharper prints when I lowered the print speed to 40-50mm/s (I think it requires 40-90mm/s). a heated bed might help. I don't use a heated bed and have noticed a bit of warping lately, but it has been in every PLA brand I use, so the fact that this behaves the same shows that it really does look like PLA. I've noticed that the prints come out a little smoother fresh from the printer than I'm used to. I don't have a Poysher, but I've been experimenting (and plan to continue) with rubbing alcohol. Brushing on the surface did little to nothing, but submerging it for a few minutes made it very malleable for surface manipulation without losing shape or important detail. Some small details were more affected, but not completely gone. I think it's better to manage the time and try other methods that might work well in the end. However, the material itself seems to be soaked through, so I placed it on a cutting mat to keep it from sticking to it. While saturated, it gets a bit gummy or sticky, much like model plastic is exposed to Tamiya cement, which makes sense given what's going on. So just plan. Overall I'm happy so far and plan to continue using this for any project I think will save a lot of sanding time. And for me that is the advantage of this product. Update: A comment I made about Tamiya cement got me thinking. I find that sometimes PLA works well with CA glue (superglue) and sometimes it doesn't. One thing modellers have done with cement is to make a goo or gloo by sticking a sprue in glue and it becomes a slurry that you can use to fill gaps and cement. I thought I'd try that too. It works! Just save some leftover support, place it in a container of alcohol and leave overnight. By the next morning it had all settled into a puddle at the bottom of the alcohol. You can use a stick (I used a flat toothpick) to pick up some of this and spread it around. If you wish to weld the parts simply place them on the surface to be joined, press against each other and hold until hardened (about 5-10 minutes). If clips or rubber bands work, great. I adjusted the alignment until it hardened. If it oozes a little, it's actually great. Just scratch it off and you've now connected and filled the gap in one step. I find that a flat tub with a top works perfectly. I'm not sure if there are any unintended consequences, but the next day it's holding and once the alcohol has evaporated you should just weld the pieces together as one piece. Edit 2: A few prints later it still seems to work. Turns out the slight brittleness I was experiencing is intentional. This helps remove the backing more easily and I had no issues with the actual print unless it was a design issue rather than a threading issue. Good for smoothing. I want Polysher to do the job better and faster, but I don't have the dollars right now. - Weirdly, I tried Tamiya Extra Thin Cement on a few scraps of discarded support material. Amazing but it really worked! I did not expect that.