I have always used AquaNet Hairspray on Prusa PEI textured sheets, especially when printing PETG. It adds adhesion and when cool it acts as a release agent…far better than glue stick.
What is the opinion of the Bambu crowd regarding this practice? I don’t see much discussion regarding AquaNet Hairspray. Is it unnecessary with Bambu PEI textured sheets, or might it still be a good idea?
@SeattleDavid I’ve printed using it and it works fine. I used a very light coating and can usually get multiple prints (8-10) before I’ve had to clean the plate and do it again.
The gold PEI sheet sticks so well I only really have issue with nylon on it, everything else sticks great without
So in general, for PLA or PETG, would you recommend using AquaNet or would you recommend not using it? Does it help or is it an essentially unnecessary step?
I find Aquanet to be helpful, I print with the Textured PEI a lot which provides fairly good adhesion on it’s own but I have had prints lift at the ends or edges without the Aquanet so now I just use it. I re-apply after several prints or any time I have a print that I think might have issues especial long and thin objects.
I use Aquanet on the smooth PEI Plates as well, I have several of the plates that leave patterns on the print like carbon fiber look and holographic looking pattern, I had trouble getting prints to stick to those plates without the Aquanet.
I also use Aquanet for prints that take more than 3 hours as extra insurance. I have used Aquanet for PLA, PETG, ABS and ASA. I may have used it for TPU, I don’t print much TPU.
i dont use anything the textured plate sticks well and comes off very easy when your done with it after it cools down ive printed in pla abs tpu and petg and it all works very well
Thank you very much for your reply and for sharing your experience. I think I will just continue using it. It is tried and true and has worked for me for years when I was a Prusa user. Now that I am shifting to Bambu I was just questioning if it was still a “thing”.
I never liked gooey glue stick and it didn’t actually work that well, either. AquaNet has been an old and reliable answer. Once I tried it I never went back to anything else. (But I never checked to see if it still was useful.)
I’ve thought about using Aqua Net but wondered how to apply it. It comes out a bit splattery looking and my OCD want a smooth, even coat like an enamel spray paint. Am I being too fussy?
I only use textured PEI plates so my experience may not apply to a smooth plate.
It should come out as a fine mist. I hold the plate over a trash can and then hold the AquaNet 12” (25cm) away. I press the nozzle and move back and forth and down. The total spraying time is under 5 seconds so not much goes on the plate.
There is always four or five “drops” that hit the plate but they don’t seem to show up in the print when heating and the AquaNet dries.
Like mentioned before, one spray lasts about 8~10 prints. Then I spray again over the last spray. After a few times I wash the plate with detergent.
If you are getting splattering the nozzle may have an accumulation of product. Take it to a sink and wash the nozzle out, gently use a Q-Tip or toothpick if needed. Gently.
AquaNet is optimal for a build plate that is hot. At a temperature of about >40c it starts to get sticky and at about 50c it is like superglue. Then, under 30c it acts like a release agent. It’s quite ideal. But when the plate is still hot (too hot to touch) do not attempt to pull your print off. It would be very difficult and you may pull the PEI off the plate. I’m serious…AquaNet is like superglue when hot. So, I don’t think a better product for 3D printing could have been designed.
Oh, and the “unscented” has a strong overpowering grandma-hair smell when being sprayed. It is most definitely not “unscented”.
Thank you for the details. I kinda figured it was an average coverage thing rather than perfect coverage. After all, even with careful application, the glue stick still leaves gaps since it kind of shudders as you spread it on. It would be handy to just hold it over the tube, spray it on and go back to printing. The nozzle could be clogged, the can is 4 or 5 years old and was used to dull some hand mirrors for a production of Cinderella up in Burien. At 62, I kind of smell like a grandpa 
I don’t clean my cool plate all that often, maybe every 10 or 15 prints and have not felt the need to treat the textured plate. I do like the sound of temperature dependent release that you mention. That’s how the Wham Bam plate is supposed to work but the surface finish is so shiny that I rarely use it.
I’ve found AquaNet to be a miracle (when I was using Prusa machines.) I was curious now that I have switched to Bambu.
Check and clean the nozzle. The spray should come out splatter free. Splatters come from spray accumulating around the nozzle and then a larger drop being projected out.
When you spray, keep the nozzle about 12" away, you are after a very fine mist, and not a soaking. A little bit, evenly applied, goes a long way.
I’m 66 and about 15 miles away from you!
Aquanet is great and for me has always been a great alternative to glue.
I’ve repurposed a modified applicator and devised a way to extract Aquanet into a liquid form. The original intent was apply it as a alternative to a smooth coat for both my engineering plate and high temp plate. However, I found that this ended up being a really good use not as an adhesive, although it did that too, but more as a protective release agent on a textured PEI when using PETG, PC or Matte filament which were hyper-aggressive in their ability to stay glued to a plate.
This was borne out of my experiments with my smooth plates and my single specular PEO plate when I was experimenting with optically clear PETG.
I’ve used multiple types of glue stick, but I have found most to be a rip off nowadays as the tubes aren’t filled like they used to be and they are a pain to apply thinly and evenly. After years of printing on both the MK3s+ and the X1C I decided to try Aqua Net. I gave to say, I will never use anything else.
I’ll give it a try. The nozzle is pretty clean, I only used it once for the mirrors. For some reason, lighting directors don’t like shiny things on stage. I am probably holding it too close.
I just discovered the Off-Road RC track in Seatac. Drove my 3D printed cars there a few weeks ago and had a blast. Until I learned that matte PLA may not be a good choice for wheels.
Hello makers.
I just tried Fiberology 40D TPU for the first time and had issues with adhesion.
The glue stick that came with my P1S did not work either so I decided to try Aquanet (extra super hold - purple bottle).
Prints were sticking, everything was going well…
After a few days of printing, I noticed some white powder on my hot end cover. This became increasing worse.
I decided to do maintenance after the print was done and to my surprise found a disaster (see photos)…the material is like clumps of wax.
I have never used either Fiberology (my spool color is black) or Aquanet before.
Has anyone had this experience or know what this can possibly be??
What do you mean by this?
I run weekly maintenance and do cold pulls in-between different types of filament changes : PLA>PETG>TPU>CFPETG
What is your cold pull procedure?
Having only ever owned a BL printer, this is foreign to me. I’ve never had to do this.
And why not just flush?
I wonder if the dust is caused by very slightly over driving the extruder. Just enough to slip but not enough to fold the soft TPU over and cause a jam.
