For a few months now I am using a slightly changed cleaning routine for my plates.
Since then I had not a single print failing through bed adhesion problems.
What’s the big deal with cleaning the plate anyway?
Most plastics SHOULD print without the need for glue on the plate…
Glue helps with the bond and with removing a big print…
So confusing if you just started printing things…
Our filaments are not pure plastics, they come with additives, helpers and often fillers.
These CAN leave a residue on the plate and one can see like a shadow of the last print on the plate.
Smudges from handling the plate add to the mess and before you know it first layer issues trouble you…
Using glue can make a huge difference but also add more problems.
Let’s try to sort this out, shall we?
It all starts with your first proper plate cleaning…
Using warm soapy water and a sponge shall remove all oil/grease/dirt based contaminants.
The water should run off the plate evenly without the plate having spots where the water behaves differently.
See those spots then clean again - a gentle rub with the soft side of the sponge, don’t use the pot scrubbing side!
After that or if there is stubborn marks left we use IPA, pure Methanol or water free Ethanol to clean the plate again.
IF you can still find a good window cleaner that contains ammonia it shall be you preferred choice over the alcohols.
Don’t go for the normal stuff and do a test on a mirror first - easy to wipe the mirror clean of your fingerprints and then drying without any streak marks or haze means it is good window cleaner.
An effect plate for example is now ready for use…
Need to use glue or prefer to use it, like on the textured PEI plate with PETG?
Assuming you tried the liquid glue stick from Bambu already you are aware that it is not really as easy as advertised…
Humidity and ambient temps can mean the stuff dries before you can properly wipe it and in return you collect more and more good on the soft tip of the bottle.
After a while it gets frustrating because it becomes harder and harder to get an even coating on the plate.
Even if all works seemingly well you can encounter issues where there too much glue or still not enough in some spots.
There is an easy fix for this that also saves you a lot of glue >
Cut two small blocks out of a cheap kitchen sponge.
About 5x5cm in size.
Use a permanent marker to mark one or both so you won’t use the wrong one later.
One block is used right after applying the glue and should get a few drops of water on the working side first.
The other block is your ‘between prints sponge’ and when used should also see a few drops of water first.
How to use them?
Apply the glue by tapping the bottle onto the plate to get 15 to 20 of these spots.
(Later you won’t need much at all!)
Wipe the glue over the plate with the prepared sponge and you will see how it forms a wet and even film over the entire plate.
If too dry add a drop of water until you can wipe the entire plate.
Looks good? Let dry and use…
After this initial treatment you use the other sponge after a few prints.
There is still plenty of glue on the plate and this sponge will just even it out.
It will also pick up minor contaminants along the way.
You should hear a squeaky sound from this sponge during the first few uses as it has not accumulated and glue yet.
If you do some small area circle work with the sponge you see how there is bit of foam for a second or so.
This indicates the presence of glue.
If all you get is a squeaky sound but not even a few bubbles right behind the sponge you might be running low on glue on the plate.
Don’t be too alarmed though if you print with PLA…
For PETG however you should always make sure there is enough glue everywhere on the plate.
If in doubt use the first sponge between prints or even dab a few drops of glue on it.
After a couple of these cleaning rounds those sponges will have accumulated a good amount of glue to be more user friendly.
As long as the first one produces a foaming action it has plenty of glue in it.
The second one will be the other way around - it will accumulate more glue over time, especially if the print won’t cover the entire plate.
Rinse the second one out with warm soapy water once the surface starts to look a bit off in colour or there is too much print goo and gunk filling the tiny holes.
Are the glue savings worth it?
LOL not really as you can get a bag of powder to make your own 500ml for just a few bucks.
But in terms of keeping the plate in a great conditions it is worth trying.
Once ‘conditioned’ I can use my sponges 10 to 15 times until there isn’t enough glue left and I have to apply a bit onto the plate.
Shorter life cycles when printing mainly PETG.
The consistency is what makes me keep doing it.
A proper second wipe with not too much glue stuck in the sponge makes even large PETG prints stick enough that I have to cool the plate down before being able to remove it.
Just a quick wipe results in those prints popping off quite easy.
Quite controllable.
What about the vital plate cleaning then ?
Well…
The glue covers the entire plate, so all smudges land on the glue.
And well, the sponges and water dissolve the glue and take off the goo and gunk, leaving only the glue behind.
I can run the same plate 20 or more times until I HAVE to give it a proper clean…