SoliForum - 3D Printing Community — Clean PLA off Kapton?

Re: Clean PLA off Kapton?

2015-02-06T17:29:03Z

As far as I understand PET or kapton tape or painter's tape in case of PLA add some bumpy surface to the print bed which allows molten plastic to get stuck in some tiny holes of the surface and stick to the bed, while glue stick or hairspray coat add a similar surface but also get into some chemical reaction to the plastic as well for even better adhesion.
Not sure though.

Re: Clean PLA off Kapton?

2015-02-06T15:51:40Z

That's great that you got it off but you will likely want to start printing on glass sooner rather than later. You will eventually tear the kapton and replacing it gets old fast. Search for glass beds and pick which ever method suits you. Some people use blue painter's tape for PLA. On the rare occasion that I print PLA, I still use glass and glue stick. Good luck.

Re: Clean PLA off Kapton?

2015-02-05T21:46:38Z

Got it:

The warmer it is, the harder it is to get off, so let it cool off completely.

Use a razor blade in a "slicing" motion to scrape the PLA off the Kapton. a pushing motion like a scraper doesn't work, is as likely to dig into the kapton as to scrape the PLA off.

Clean PLA off Kapton?

2015-02-05T19:16:48Z

So I've got some PLA stuck to the Kapton tape on my SD4 bed, it's mostly the remnants of the perimeter I print to get the nozzle up to speed, etc, but I can't seem to remove it.

Is there a recommended solvent or temperature or tool to do this?

Thanks!