Lloyd,
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The components were produced on a QIDI Plus 4 printer, utilizing a mix of PLA and PLA-CF, with plans to potentially print another unit in PPS-CF for enhanced durability. The PLA parts were printed using a fully calibrated .4mm nozzle, following the Orca slicer calibration process, which was also applied to the PLA-CF filament. For the front panel, a .2mm nozzle was used with PLA-CF to achieve sharper lettering and reduce filament layers. I included a photo of the raw front panel with primer to illustrate the clarity of the lettering, although the white paint application slightly distorted the letters. After calibrating the filaments and printing the parts, a self-etching primer was applied to reveal the layer lines, followed by a quick wet sanding with 400 grit and a layer of autobody spot filler, which was also sanded with wet 400 grit. Once the layer lines were filled, another primer coat was applied, followed by wet sanding with 1000 grit and two to three coats of green paint, sanding between each layer. After the final green paint coat dried, a matte clear coat was added to seal the surface and prevent the white paint for the lettering from contaminating the green paint.
Next, I then applied white paint to the lettering wiping clean with a dry towel this left some paint smearing on the part surface which was sanded off once dry with wet 2000 grit paper. Then a final coat of clear matte finish and phew its done.
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73, Dave
W6MQI
W6MQI