- Identification of the problem: ”flattening“ of white material When evaluating my 3D printing parts, I encountered a key visual problem. Although many parts (as shown in the figure) are very fine when modeling, due to their small size, coupled with the original pure white resin material, light scattering, making these complex details visually ”flattened“ and cannot be clearly perceived.
- The assumption of the solution: capture details with metallic gloss My solution is to use silver pigment for painting. The purpose here is not only to change the color, but also to use the reflective characteristics of metallic colors to “capture” light and shadow, so as to visually “deepen” grooves and “highlight bulges, so as to enhance and highlight these originally ”invisible“ Details.
- Iteration and failure: the contradiction between thickness and coverage However, the practical process is not smooth, but full of a series of technical iterations.
- The first attempt (failure): I painted too thick. I found that the physical thickness of the pigment itself instead ”engulfed“ or ”clogged“ the fine texture I tried to strengthen, resulting in the loss of details, which was contrary to my original intention.
- The second attempt (failure): I learned the lesson and tried to paint too thin. But this leads to a new problem: the pigment cannot completely cover the white background, and the base color showing through phenomenon makes the surface look very rough and patchy, with poor visual effects.
- Determination of the final plan: fine tools and ”two layers of thin coating“ The previous two failures made me realize that I must find a precise balance between the ”coverage of the paint“ and the ”retention of details“. My final solution is:
- Tools: Give up large brushes and use smaller fine brushes（a smaller detail brush）。
- Method: After dipping the pigment, color patiently in the way of ”smearing little by little“, instead of ”brushing“ the color.
- Technology: I have applied two thin layers in total. The first layer is covered as the background color, and the second layer ensures the uniformity and saturation of the color.
- Conclusion: The method of ”thinly coating two layers“ has been successful. As shown in the figure, this technology can not only completely cover the background color, but also not cover the fine details of the model at all, which perfectly solves the contradictions I encountered at the beginning. This process proves that when dealing with tiny components, the later painting technology is as important as the material selection, which directly determines the final ”level of finish“ and detailed expression of the work.
chuyun lu‘s 