What Shiny Coating to Use for 3-D Printed Aluminum Casting?

A. Hi Matt. Finishing/coating 3-D printed metals is still rather new to many of us in the finishing industry. We've had "Guidelines" for the design of parts to make them readily plateable/finishable for decades, but the 3-D printing and other rapid prototyping technologies of today are growing explosively, and involve many approaches such that the answer may depend on what metal forming methods were used …

My limited understanding of 3-D printed metals tells me that they tend to be porous … they may be made of mixed materials (some kind of binders as well as the aluminum?) … and the curing may involve heat that oxidizes the surface and makes it difficult to plate or coat.

If there is no special reason to want a metallic coating (electroplating), I think organic coatings (electrophoretic lacquer, powder coating, or paint) will be more practical. You could do electrophoretic lacquer (electrocoating) and a "rose gold" tinted post dip. Even then some extra prep, pre-baking for outgassing, etc., may be required beyond what is usually used for conventionally built components. Good luck.

Regards,