Bed Adhesion - tricks and tips?

Guys, I'm TOTALLY converted to the Elmer's Purple Glue Stick on glass adhesion method.

Not only has it been SUPER easy to use (no replacing the tape after every 1-3 prints), but the combo of glue on the Home Depot mirror has resulted in an almost 100% success rate with first layer adhesion.

... and that's on a COLD BED!

What's incredible is the # of prints I can get without having to reapply the glue, or even "freshen it up" with the sponge, etc.

I'm very happy I decided to give it another try. I really do think the type / quality of glue made all the difference. I'm tempted to try the cheap dollar store gluestick again just to really make sure that was the issue, but I almost don't want to bother (but I'm a sucker for a good experiment, so I may try it anyway

Nifty said:

What's incredible is the # of prints I can get without having to reapply the glue, or even "freshen it up" with the sponge, etc.

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OK. I'll bite. How many?

Nifty said:

I'm tempted to try the cheap dollar store gluestick again

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Unless the price of Elmer's is prohibitive, don't fix what isn't broken.

That said, let us know your results.

stratman said:

OK. I'll bite. How many?

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Hmmm... great question! I tend to move my prints around the bed a lot, so I have no idea. I actually don't think I've had to reapply glue yet, and I've probably done dozens of prints in / around the same areas.

What I do know: It's been WAY easier to get my prints off the bed. Like SUPER easy / fun to just tap them with the edge of my putty-knife and they pop off. Most of the stuff I print is small and/or has a low bottom-layer surface area. I had a couple of bigger items that were pretty hard to get off. If that happens again (where I'm worried about breaking things) I might try the trick of putting it all in the freezer.

stratman said:

Unless the price of Elmer's is prohibitive, don't fix what isn't broken.

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Funny you should say that since it's not prohibitive at all. That said, I'm naturally SUPER cheap and I do (sometimes) enjoy testing stuff like this out. That said, I'm not excited to take off all the current glue, reapply the cheap glue, find it doesn't work, then redo the whole process again.

Nifty said:

I've probably done dozens of prints

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Nifty said:

It's been WAY easier to get my prints off the bed.

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That's great news. the purple Elmer's glue and a mirrored surface sounds like the way to go.

Nifty said:

I'm not excited to take off all the current glue, reapply the cheap glue, find it doesn't work, then redo the whole process again.

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Have you read of anyone having the same or better success with a glue other than the purple Elmer's? I have not. I have read the opposite. But I do understand the itch to experiment. Let us know!

stratman said:

Have you read of anyone having the same or better success with a glue other than the purple Elmer's? I have not. I have read the opposite.

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Yup, you're spot-on!

In fact, the more I think about it, the more I realize:

1. I've already tested the cheap $1 store glue a few times and never once thought, "Oh, this might be working!"
2. "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"
3. Elmers, especially in bulk from Amazon is pretty darn cheap, and I've already purchased 12 sticks.

... so, I really don't have a reason to test the cheap stuff again. This is a good exercise in control over my cheap / testing OCD

Thanks @stratman for being the voice of reason and steering me in the right direction!

Nifty said:

Thanks @stratman for being the voice of reason and steering me in the right direction!

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You are very welcome, Rob!

The pleasure is all mine because now I can link to your words any time @The Hat goes off on one of his extravagant decorative toilet paper roll holder 3D printing marathons and I need to ground him back to planet earth before Mrs The Hat crowns him with a frying pan.

Nifty said:

Over the past year, I've pretty much exclusively used blue tape on top of the glass bed that came with my CR-10. It pretty much works perfectly every time, and I don't ever have to heat my bed... which is nice because I'm super impatient.

A few months back I purchased mirrors from Home Depot and tried to print on them with glue, hair spray, etc. but it just never worked for me, so I gave up and went back to painters tape.

I stumbled on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5jFf6L5LYU

... and decided to give the mirror another try.

Printing right to the glass alone didn't work. I honestly think it's probably impossible to print to a cold glass bed without anything on it.

So, I next put on some purple elmer's glue in the method shown in the video... and then this happened:

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I'm going to keep playing with this method and see how it compares (pros / cons) to the tried/true tape method!

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I've become so cocky with how reliable my glass bed printing has been, that I've totally turned into this:

That sounds about right....just don't park the car that close next time..