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Best Paint For 3D Prints

Primer first, always. PLA needs two coats before color goes anywhere near it.

6 ranked · nothing here paid to be listed

1. 1

   Acrylics

   The best all-round choice: they stick, dry fast, layer cleanly and clean up with water.

2. 2

   Filler primer

   Fills and smooths layer lines on larger pieces before color. The difference between a print that looks printed and one that does not.

3. 3

   Vallejo Surface Primer

   Brush or airbrush, and the miniature painter default for anything small.

4. 4

   Testors enamel primer

   Aerosol, and the one to reach for on small parts where a filler primer would drown the detail.

5. 5

   Enamel paints

   Harder wearing than acrylic, slower to dry, and far less forgiving of a mistake.

6. 6

   Rattle-can spray

   Fastest coverage on a large prop, and the hardest to control.

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