More 3D signs

I like raised letter signs and with a 3D printer they are fairly easy to produce.

I have used a similar technique on the signs on my Scalextric track. In that case I carefully hand painted round the letters. That was not easy to get the finish I wanted because I did not prime the surface first and getting between the letters was fiddly.

This time I spray painted the whole thing and sanded away the colour to reveal the plastic under the paint.

I tried using the belt sander but that was too aggressive and removed too much plastic.

A hand held sanding pad worked perfectly.

The 3D printed plastic is a bit porous so the base colour paint can still be seen slightly after the sanding. To fix this I just paint the top colour over the letters. This is fairly easy as there is no need to be accurate. It just needs to sink in to the same thin gaps between the print lines that the base paint has already been pulled in to.

For the outside sign I gave it a top coat of clear lacquer.