{"id":862,"date":"2025-07-01T00:02:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T00:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-blowtorching-electroplated-3d-prints-a-game-changer-in-finishing-techniques\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T00:02:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T00:02:12","slug":"the-benefits-of-blowtorching-electroplated-3d-prints-a-game-changer-in-finishing-techniques","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-blowtorching-electroplated-3d-prints-a-game-changer-in-finishing-techniques\/","title":{"rendered":"The Benefits of Blowtorching Electroplated 3D Prints: A Game Changer in Finishing Techniques"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What if you could electroplate a plastic 3D print and then eliminate the plastic, leaving only the metal? This intriguing process has been explored by <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=fqV8R20O2UQ\">HEN3DRIK<\/a>, yielding impressive results.<\/p>\n<p>HEN3DRIK employs a specialized PVB casting filament for this experiment. This filament has unique traits that make it suitable for smoothing with isopropanol and for burning off during casting processes. After printing, he vapor polishes the objects to enhance their surface finish, then covers them with copper paint, making the plastic conductive. The next step involves electroplating the parts with copper, creating a shiny metallic layer about 240 micrometers thick. Finally, he uses a blowtorch to burn away the casting filament, leaving behind a metal shell. However, this fire also tends to produce an unattractive oxide layer on the copper, necessitating additional finishing work to restore their shine.<\/p>\n<p>We have previously featured HEN3DRIK&#8217;s projects, particularly his work on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/hackaday.com\/2022\/10\/13\/electroplating-makes-3d-printed-star-wars-prop-shine\/\">electroplated 3D prints with mirror finishes<\/a>, which can serve as a great starting point for those interested in this latest technique.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What if you could electroplate a plastic 3D print and then eliminate the plastic, leaving only the metal? This intriguing process has been explored by HEN3DRIK, yielding impressive results. HEN3DRIK employs a specialized PVB casting filament for this experiment. This filament has unique traits that make it suitable for smoothing with isopropanol and for burning [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Benefits of Blowtorching Electroplated 3D Prints: A Game Changer in Finishing Techniques - 3D Printing Services Blog and Updates | 3D Print Prototypes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-blowtorching-electroplated-3d-prints-a-game-changer-in-finishing-techniques\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Benefits of Blowtorching Electroplated 3D Prints: A Game Changer in Finishing Techniques - 3D Printing Services Blog and Updates | 3D Print Prototypes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What if you could electroplate a plastic 3D print and then eliminate the plastic, leaving only the metal? This intriguing process has been explored by HEN3DRIK, yielding impressive results. HEN3DRIK employs a specialized PVB casting filament for this experiment. This filament has unique traits that make it suitable for smoothing with isopropanol and for burning [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-blowtorching-electroplated-3d-prints-a-game-changer-in-finishing-techniques\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"3D Printing Services Blog and Updates | 3D Print Prototypes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-01T00:02:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-blowtorching-electroplated-3d-prints-a-game-changer-in-finishing-techniques\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-blowtorching-electroplated-3d-prints-a-game-changer-in-finishing-techniques\/\",\"name\":\"The Benefits of Blowtorching Electroplated 3D Prints: A Game Changer in Finishing Techniques - 3D Printing Services Blog and Updates | 3D Print Prototypes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-blowtorching-electroplated-3d-prints-a-game-changer-in-finishing-techniques\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-blowtorching-electroplated-3d-prints-a-game-changer-in-finishing-techniques\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4e144e54-a7da-43e8-9c92-008460c22fcd.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-01T00:02:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-blowtorching-electroplated-3d-prints-a-game-changer-in-finishing-techniques\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-blowtorching-electroplated-3d-prints-a-game-changer-in-finishing-techniques\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-blowtorching-electroplated-3d-prints-a-game-changer-in-finishing-techniques\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4e144e54-a7da-43e8-9c92-008460c22fcd.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4e144e54-a7da-43e8-9c92-008460c22fcd.webp\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/the-benefits-of-blowtorching-electroplated-3d-prints-a-game-changer-in-finishing-techniques\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Benefits of Blowtorching Electroplated 3D Prints: A Game Changer in Finishing Techniques\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/3dprintingservices.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"3D Printing Services Blog and Updates | 3D Print Prototypes\",\"description\":\"Stay informed with our latest 3D printing blog posts and updates. 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