Electroplating 3D Prints with Graphite Paint

Since the dawn of 3D printing, folks have wanted to produce nicer finishes than simply the raw plastic with layer lines. Many methods have surfaced and re-surfaced over the years but electroplating seems to be the one that has the biggest transformative results.

In this tutorial, Hend3drik takes you through the process of electroplating resin prints by coating them first in graphite paint.

For those who are just seeing this for the rfirst time, lets lay some foundational information down. Electroplating is the process of coating the entire surface of the object with a thin layer of metal. You can use a few different metals for different results, but effectively you’re making a shell around your print.

To do this process, your print needs to be conductive, and that’s where the graphite paint comes into play. Graphite can coat your model quite well, but doesn’t have the best conductivity until you do a little more processing. Apparently a simple polish can make this process work much better. If there’s one cool tip to take away from this, it is to rub polish your graphite pieces! For this tutorial he actually uses a rotary rock tumbler to prepare his prints.

You should really watch the whole video to get the full details, but as you can see, the results are quite stunning.