I habe never used mek, but acetone on abs. Works like a charm.
Soooo I did actually try Vapor Smoothing with MEK Before! Infact I still got a Litre of that Stuff Around now, but even after leaving the print in there for Days at 50°C the Results where… honestly no big Changes at all…
I do suspect there is an Error in my Methodology… but turns out there isnt a lot of Info out there on Vapor Smoothing with MEK… Have you used MEK for Vapor Smoothing before?
fufu@feddit.org 5 days ago
FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 4 days ago
I’ve not used MEK personally, all of my petg parts are structural. What I’m seeing online says 60-80c.
What I’d do is kick it up by 5c and swap in failed test prints and see how that changes things. Maybe also “priming” the chamber with a heat gun so the air is also warm. (Do this before placing the MEK!)
Mr_Mofu@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 days ago
The main thing I’m wondering right now, is the MEK supposed to Boil? I feel like it should be, but at that point im also working with e Pressurised Vessel with very much Dangerous chemicals… thought’s?
FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 4 days ago
i;ve never used pressurized vapor baths, for anything. I’d certainly stay away from pressurized vapor baths using heated solvents that are also rather flammable (that’s… got some exciting possibilities that I would let my worst enemy do first.) I’d use picture glass (or cheap ikea mirrors.) to build up a box. set it up outside where the vapors aren’t a problem.
alternatively, a cheap-ass-fuck stock pot with a glass lid will also work fine, but don’t seal it… and certainly don’t use it for food when you’re done.
as for if it should boil, it’s boinling point is about 80 deg. C, so if you’re seeing boiling, you either have somewhat impure MEK (which is fine,) or your temp measurement is off. It should still put enough vapor into the box that you can see it working though… it’ll just work faster.
Mr_Mofu@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 days ago
I mean it wasn’t boiling which I thought was the issue. The setup I got rn is a Very Solid glass Jar that was fully Sealed and heated to around 50°C on my Printer bed. Left my Prints in there for between 30 Minutes to a Whole day, and while it was a lot shinier afterwards, no changes in the lines or or layers where to be seen.
Safety wise I got a Gas Mask, Fitting Clothes and some other Saftey stuff around