On a textured PEI plate,I use Dawn dish soap, warm water, and scour with a Scotchbrite pad. That gets the old glue off. Sometimes I spray the plate with an extra hold hair spray.
Not because of micro scratches, no. After some prints, there are already micro srcatches caused by the nozzle rubbing the plate anyway. There are more to it at the microscopic level when sanding contact surface: broken polymer chains, easier bonding between polymer chains⌠that makes it bond âwell-erâ.
The problem is the combination of PETG + PEI. Hence, hair spray as release agent. I have had in the past PETG print part welded completely to PEI sheet or glass bed, broke off a part of the glass bed or permanently damage the PEI sheet. That was before we had frosted textured PEI plate available.
7-6 years ago, I considered built plate as consumable. Still think that way until today.
Btw, I mean PEI plate = textured PEI plate, PEI sheet = smooth PEI sheet with adhesive.
Why Dawn soap vs the 100 other brands.
Dawn is known to be very good at removing oil, the main culprit for poor plate adhesion.
It is well known and easily available everywhere in the U.S.
The brand name is not important. You want to use a detergent (not a soap, which can contain fats). A detergent will break down and encapsulate the oil molecules so they can be rinsed away.
Avoid anything that claims to moisturize, be kind to hands, etc. Scents and antibacterial
properties are irrelevant.
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I use 100% isopropyl before every print. A couple of light squirts, buffed thoroughly with a microfibre cloth. Approximately weekly I give the textured PEI plate a good scrub with dish detergent.
This seems to work in my X1C. I havenât had a first layer problem or poor adhesions since carrying out these steps. Finally, I never use glue or hairspray - never.