When I first got a 3D printer everyone was telling me that I needed to clean my build plates with IPA. A couple of months in I came to the conclusion that IPA was the problem. I even did experiments like clean half the build plate with IPA and the other half with only a dry cloth. The dry cloth won out, especially after I looked at the plates under a microscope. It was so weird to me that seemingly everyone swore by the use of IPA. So much so that I started to think that the 3D printing community was full of pot heads.
Unless one is using glues, which I almost never use, the debris left behind after a print, is not particles but little strings that will roll out when a dry cloth is forcefully wiped across the build plate.. The other major contamination is finger oils which are also easily removed by use of a dry cloth. I use the microfiber cloths that are the size of standard washcloths. On those rare occasions when I use glue, I clean the mess using the blue dishwashing liquid one sees just as the sun is about rise in the morning.
When it comes to my printers, they are teetotalers just like I am, and are better off for it.
It’s like everything else in life: IPA is a tool, Glue is a tool. You just have to know when to use.
Unfortunately, many people aren’t aware of this. This is particularly true of experienced users who started out at a time when print plates weren’t precision tools, so their knowledge is unfortunately outdated. However, it is not limited to this group.
This group of people can ruin the fun of 3D printing for beginners by spamming suggestions such as: ‘Use glue’, ‘Use IPA’, ‘Use acetone’. What is often overlooked is that there are different types of print plate and that this is not a solution to all problem - quite the contrary.
That’s exactly what leads to a lot of beginners on the forum - who are usually guided by bad advice, e.g., on Reddit - who then get completely frustrated, when all they really needed to do was wash their print plate, instead of smearing even more glue on it, for example.
These people don’t realize at all how much they’re hurting beginners with such bad advice and ruining the hobby for them.
In a nutshell: Those who recommend using IPA, glue and acetone across the board are the same type of people who use a screwdriver or a sledgehammer to bang in nails.
I teach aircraft painting and we use IPA to remove the oils from handling parts prior to painting. I know this is not a direct comparison but I do the same with my build plate, after every print. I would not take the time to wash the plate in the sink after printing so this has worked for me. The few times a dirty plate has caused an issue is when I forget to use the IPA and had to remove the plate, likely having contaminated the surface. With close to 1000 hours of printing, this has worked great for me. Maybe 3 or 4 failures that might have been from a dirty plate, or poorly supported design, hard to tell.
If you use alcohol you need to flood, wipe with some force, and remove all the fluid. You cant just spritz a small layer on and wipe loosely and let air dry, or you get exactly what the OP picture shows of oil trapped in valleys.
Now you have a rag doused in alcohol, so mind your flames.
I use IPA between real cleanings as an “oh crap i just touched it” insurance policy, its not as good but I dont have a sink in the print room.
Amazing - just an observation: In a very short time, new users have signed up exclusively to post in this thread to say that they don’t do it the way Bambu describes, but instead use IPA or acetone.
…and, of course, they haven’t posted in any other thread. I suppose the direct link has probably been shared somewhere.
It must be a very polarising topic if people sign up to the forum specifically because of this topic and then don’t post anything else.
The main problem I’ve noticed is that some people don’t buy real isopropyl alcohol, but simply contaminated alcohol. It’s much cheaper; you can often get a liquid container for just a few dollars. Including that the printer plate is sunk into it.
Some people even use denatured ethanol - drinking alcohol that has been intentionally mixed with additives to make it undrinkable and cheaper.
Although some people talk about IPA, it’s often not isopropyl alcohol. It’s just a contaminated, cheap rubbing alcohol or denatured ethanol - that you can use, for example, in a car workshop.
IPA = pure technical alcohol → ideal for electronics, precision cleaning, and surfaces that must stay residue‑free.
Denatured ethanol → cheaper, but contains additives that affect smell, material compatibility, and cleanliness.
In a nutshell: Some people think that anything alcoholic is IPA. We’ve already seen in the forum that some people confuse rubbing alcohol with IPA.
Not counterfeiting. Instead, customers are simply standing in front of the shelf and don’t know which alcohol to buy for cleaning. In that case, they just go with the cheapest option. There’s no need to fake anything. It’s more a question of whether the customer can tell the difference between IPA and other cleaning alcohols.
One is a synthetic chemical alcohol specifically designed for precision cleaning; the other is simply rubbing alcohol - or even worse, the denatured ethanol described above.
IPA = synthetic chemical alcohol
Denatured Ethanol = natural alcohol
You can also tell by the smell: IPA is almost odorless. When users on the forum complain that their “IPA” smells really bad, you know for sure it’s not IPA.
Some customers, as well as some members of the 3D printing community, simply don’t know the difference. And that’s exactly what makes it risky.
Well its pretty simple. Denatured alcohol is in the hardware section, Isopropyl is in the first aid section.
But sure we can sum this up to “people are stupid”.
Can we not trust people to read labels? Is that your point?
How do we even know ethanol wont do an acceptable job?
Just for the fun of it, Im going to clean a plate with bourbon.
(Max image size is a little low so not the best quality)
I smeared a layer of beef tallow onto the build plate using a paper towel to get an even layer. Then I put about half an ounce of Wild Turkey 101 onto a paper towel and cleaned the plate as if it was IPA. I then followed up with a new paper towel to dry it off.
I dont have Vodka on hand, but a 101 proof bourbon is probably better for cleaning. Ever clear would probably be the best choice if we are trying to match isopropyl.
I don’t care what people use; the important thing is to inform newbies. I wouldn’t call it “people are stupid”, but rather that, unfortunately, a lot of misinformation is being circulated. Reddit, AI, and sometimes just plain laziness.
…and if someone licks it’s print plate with their tongue, I don’t care. Context is always what matters.
No. People must be stupid considering the first search result on Google is to use either dish soap or IPA.
Or how the default result to any issue is “clean your plate with dish soap”.
You must have to look really hard if you are looking for misinformation.
I have never seen someone recommend using ethanol to clean plates. But maybe I am not looking hard enough. Funny thing is that it worked just as well as isopropyl.
And besides: I think you’re really underestimating Reddit - or social platforms in general - right now… not in a positive way. You have to go where newbies go, and that’s usually Reddit - or, if you’re older, Facebook.
That may well be the situation where you live but it’s certainly not the case where I live and quite possibly likewise for much of the planet. Finding any washing product that doesn’t contain a bucket full of additives is near impossible for some of us. That doesn’t mean I view IPA as an satisfactory substitute for cleaning textured plates. It just means I have to mix my own cleaning solution using pure soap flakes (LUX brand), to which I add a little amonia.
To be honest, I don’t know what you’re trying to argue here. My point is that we should educate newbies - including about the different types of alcohol. Same for glue. Your argument is that people are stupid. These are two completely different approaches.
I think your approach sucks: If people are stupid, then you should educate them instead of just labeling them as stupid.
That’s one of those topics where we have completely different approaches. Newbies are important to me respectively, to help them. What’s important to you is labeling people as stupid. I find my approach more appealing.
We have fundamentally different attitudes and priorities when it comes to this topic:
