Anyway, one of the things I did last night was to try different speeds, so I started the same print, but I sliced the model with the slider to maximum speed (60mm/sec).  During the print I noticed the quality of the surface got worse, so while it was printing I reduced the speed with the manual feedrate slider to 64 (percent I presume, so about 40mm/sec), and let it print.  The surface quality improved dramatically.

So this morning, I PID'd the extruder to 230°C, set the speed slider to minimum (40mm/sec), and sliced a different model, that is lot more complicated that the one above, and requires support as well.  It's printing right now, and we'll see what it looks like about 12 hours from now.

Temp curve, yup! Sorry...long week
I would recommend performing your PID tuning then go from there. If the fan on the hotend is active and your temp is true, then we can move to another consideration.

I am not attempting to tell you you should have done anything. It's your money, spend it however makes you happy! But the clones have been reported to give off odd, erratic, poor, or even dangerous results. It could be a fine tuning needed, or even poor tolerances from the manufacturer.
Keep us posted!

OK, since you brought it up, how does poor tolerances affect the quality of the print?

I can understand clogs, jams, or other mechanical issues, but I don't have any of those problems. 

I have an issue that creates poor quality outer surfaces, but produces very good quality top surfaces.  Basically the outer perimeter of my prints isn't smooth.

This says you are printing at 50mm/s. That is extremely fast for a .1 layer height. You need to raise your temp more and confirm it is accurate. You should also be printing at 30mm/s or lower for s .1 layer.

Regarding speed, before the hot end change, I used to print routinely at 60-65mm/sec at .1mm layers (I seldom print anything other than .1mm layers).  Why I dialed the speed down since I got this hot end, I don't really know.

Regarding temps.  I only have an IR thermometer, and frankly I don't put a lot of stock in its accuracy, but according to it, my temps are 187°C, when thermistor reports 230°C

I am not attempting to tell you you should have done anything. It's your money, spend it however makes you happy! But the clones have been reported to give off odd, erratic, poor, or even dangerous results. It could be a fine tuning needed, or even poor tolerances from the manufacturer.
Keep us posted!

What does the temp chart look like during the print?

If by Temp Chart you're referring to the temp curve, here it is.  This is a 5 minute window about half way into the print.

It looks a little jaggy, probably because the extruder is currently PID'd for 220°C, not 230°C.  However the largest deviation is no more than ±1°C

carl_m1968 wrote:

What speed are you printing at. That looks like under extrusion based on speed as in it being too fast for your temp snd layer height. Instead of letting the layer lay naturally it is being stretched slightly which is giving it that dry sandy look.

I'm not printing fast at all.  Here is a screenshot of my settings, which is what I used for this model.  The extrusion temperature is usually 220°C, but for this particular filament was set at 230°C.

This says you are printing at 50mm/s. That is extremely fast for a .1 layer height. You need to raise your temp more and confirm it is accurate. You should also be printing at 30mm/s or lower for s .1 layer.

What speed are you printing at. That looks like under extrusion based on speed as in it being too fast for your temp snd layer height. Instead of letting the layer lay naturally it is being stretched slightly which is giving it that dry sandy look.

I'm not printing fast at all.  Here is a screenshot of my settings, which is what I used for this model.  The extrusion temperature is usually 220°C, but for this particular filament was set at 230°C.

Ever since I put an all metal hot end on my SD3 I haven't been able to dial it in to get clean prints.  The hot end is NOT an E3D, it's some kind of a clone.  I have no mechanical issues with it, it extrudes fine, no jams or anything, and the top surfaces it produces are superior to the top surfaces I was getting from my original MG PLus.

However, vertical surfaces are simply horrible.  I calibrated the extrusion multiplier, I adjusted vRef (by feel), tried all kinds of permutations of extrusion temps, speeds, retraction, Z-Hop, you name it, it still sucks.

Dimensionally, it produces accurate models, and when printing mechanical type objects, it's fine, but on finely detailed models like the one in the photos, it simply won't cut it.

Besides looking scruffy, the material also looks "dry" (dull and "sandy" looking).  But the top surfaces look nice, smooth and shiny.

Any comments and suggestions (other than "you should have bought an E3D") would be appreciated. 

Thanks.