Isopropyl alcohol helps removing PLA prints from your bed

Isopropyl alcohol helps removing PLA prints from your bed

I use a Creality CR-10 Mini since a few years now and really enjoy it. I mainly print PLA, PETG and flexible materials. I like to use PETG for “mechanical” parts or objects that need to be left outside. I also like how PETG is not wrapping at all when printing. Still I’m often using PLA for toys or objects with many small details.

I’m mainly using Extrudr NX2 PLA because I like the matte finish and also the fact that it is FDA approved. I often print stuff for kids so I prefer to use an approved material. However, I have issue with this PLA. Either it doesn’t stick well to my bed (IKEA mirror tile) or it stick way too much. I already took parts of the glass with the print while trying to remove the object from the bed, forcing me to replace it.

Egg dispenser bunnies

I add that issue again recently while printing an egg dispenser bunny for my kids. Using a bed temperature of 45°C, the print did not stick well and the print wrapped a lot in the corners. With a bed temperature of 65°C, the print went well but I was not able to remove it from the bed, even after the bed cooled down to 15°C (I’m printing in my basement).

Googling around, I found a post on a forum (sorry, I don’t remember the source) in which a guy said that he uses a few drops of isopropyl alcohol to help removing PLA prints from his bed. I bought isopropyl alcohol when I started using my printer to clean my bed. Yet, I’m not using it very often because I rather use hair spray nowadays. Still, I tried a few drops of iospropyl alcohol around the print, made it go under the print by tilting the bed and… I instantly heard the print “detaching” from the bed. I managed to remove my print with no effort (and damage) this way.

Isopropyl alcohol

I’m very surprised that I had never heard of this trick before. I think it is definitely worth sharing. Give it a try and you will see. By the way, it looks like isopropyl alcohol does not affect PLA so this should not damage your precious print.

Comments are closed.