I am brand new to printing, so please be gentle 
I am wondering how/if I can get a high gloss effect similar to the pawns in this pic. I’m trying to replace some game pieces that have a similar look.
Thank you in advance!!
That sort of smoothing won’t come out of the machine as-is, you’ll need to do some post processing.
With PLA/PETG you can accomplish this with the tried and true : Prime/Fill, Sand, Paint. It’ll be tough to do by hand with such small pieces but youll get it. Use automotive bodywork products meant for plastics.
With ABS/ASA you can attempt vapor polishing using Acetone.
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Thank you! That was kinda what I thought. Maybe it isn’t worth the effort (or maybe it’s a perfect little project to learn on).
Bullocks answer is correct and the way to go… but if you’re bored and wanted to try something new you can print a few of those. Then use a silicone mold kit and create molds from the 3D printed pieces. Then use those molds for 2 part epoxy resin with dye in it.
You could create exact replicas of the original pieces… but WAY more work.
With such small objects you’ll be able to try out vapor polishing super easily. You or someone you know has a half ounce of acetone nail polish remover, and you could do it in all sorts of disposable packaging. Most of the tutorials online spend most of their effort building a large chamber for large parts, you can use a lunchmeat container or something.
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FYI for Bambu ASA/ABS you will need to dip the parts as this filament doesn’t vapour smooth.
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You might also consider making an entire new set of game pieces to be sure they all look alike.
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Welcome to the community.
As mentioned above, some post-processing is required to achieve that molded plastic specular surface. However, I can share a shortcut, or “cheat,” if you will.
I’m currently working on two Steampunk-style control panel projects and began experimenting last week. The examples below show initial tests using a simple CAD-modeled sphere for higher resolution than the slicer allows. I elongated it to 40x60x26 mm. The filament is copper/bronze silk PLA, printed at 0.08 mm layer height with a 0.4 mm nozzle.
The back row sample is raw and untreated. The left sample was left unsanded and coated with satin polyurethane spray paint. The right sample was dry-sanded with 600 grit, then coated with a single layer of triple-thick polyurethane. The penny provides scale and a specularity/color reference. Click to zoom.
After light sanding, the right sample achieved a near-mirror finish. That wasn’t my intent, but it demonstrated how well the filament can polish. A finished piece could be further wet-sanded above 600 grit for a smoother result.
This example is what I mean but needing more sanding.
I could easily get the ridges to disappear if I used wet sanding and went to 1000 grit. I’ve employed this technique before with the optical clarity experiments that was part of a thread on printing ice posted here back in 2023. This test only proved that it is possible to get both optical clarity and near glass-like transparency with some modest post processing.
Next, here’s a quick and dirty embedded-text test using only the slicer to vary engraving depth. I also tried different clearcoat and polyurethane finishes.
From this, I found that 0.5 mm depth works best for backfilled lettering using a lacquer paint stick followed by gloss enamel. These are rough tests, the text isn’t fully filled, but I also used a 3M deburring wheel (a green Scotch-Brite pad would work too). The goal was to test whether ironing plus polyurethane backfill could yield a smooth finish. I personally prefer the thicker satin look, since I’m emulating anodized aluminum.
Products used:
These shortcuts can simulate molded plastic or brushed metal depending on whether you choose satin or gloss. Some light sanding is unavoidable, I spent under 60 seconds per part, mainly to knock down ridges.
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