Hey, apologies if this is a duplicate post - my search foo is pretty bad nowadays I think :< - but I wanted to ask how others clean PEI sheets?
I see a lot of rather conflicting information, in particular whether to use cleaning alcohol or not on it. I intuitively understand Acetone is a no-no, but what about just alcohol? Does that also damage/roughen the surface of the smooth side?
Should I use window cleaner on the smooth side?
Just dishwashing soap to be on the very safe side?
I use acetone pretty regularly on my sheets and I haven’t noticed any bad effects. Usually it is best to use soap and water, acetone and isopropyl alcohol. If things won’t stick, do all three (in that order).
IPA for quick wipe-downs. Dish soap and water with a nylon scrub brush for occasional more thorough cleaning. I wipe with IPA after doing dish soap to ensure there’s no soap residue left.
Used both smooth and textured (stopped using smooth once i started using textured) and i just wipe it with IPA sometimes and if its really filthy i wash it with water and dishsoap. Never needed to “rejuvenate” them or whatnot and i print PLA and PET. The smooth one had hundreds upon hundreds prints in the middle of it and besides a little “ghosting” from last few prints it looks and works like new.
Acetone might be fine but having a spray bottle of ipa is much more useful than a bottle of acetone.
Cleaned it with alcoholic cleaner -> nothing sticks anymore
My research has told me to use only mild soap if any as every cleaner could contain something that harms the coating of the PEI sheet.
Should have searched on this topic before cleaning… had to buy a new bed.
Edit:
I have to correct myself. I now used 70% IPA a few times on my textured PEI bed, let it sit for a minute and then gave it a good scrub with a microfiber cloth. Since I do that before every print and let it heat up 10 minutes to make sure it’s completely dry I don’t have any adhesion problems anymore.
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Acetone is fine.
This is actually one of my pet peeves. Acetone is far from the “universal plastic solvent” that it has as a reputation…
Ultem, aka pei actually does great with acetone: https://www.astisensor.com/ultem.pdf.
I use acetone pretty regularly on my sheets and I haven’t noticed any bad effects. Usually it is best to use soap and water, acetone and isopropyl alcohol. If things won’t stick, do all three (in that order).
I usually clean it with soap and water that has so far kept it clean and prints stick to it well.
IPA for quick wipe-downs. Dish soap and water with a nylon scrub brush for occasional more thorough cleaning. I wipe with IPA after doing dish soap to ensure there’s no soap residue left.
Definitely no acetone.
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Warm water and dawn dish soap. Clean it every few months
Used both smooth and textured (stopped using smooth once i started using textured) and i just wipe it with IPA sometimes and if its really filthy i wash it with water and dishsoap. Never needed to “rejuvenate” them or whatnot and i print PLA and PET. The smooth one had hundreds upon hundreds prints in the middle of it and besides a little “ghosting” from last few prints it looks and works like new.
Acetone might be fine but having a spray bottle of ipa is much more useful than a bottle of acetone.
I got a new PEI bed -> everything perfect
Cleaned it with alcoholic cleaner -> nothing sticks anymore
My research has told me to use only mild soap if any as every cleaner could contain something that harms the coating of the PEI sheet. Should have searched on this topic before cleaning… had to buy a new bed.
Edit: I have to correct myself. I now used 70% IPA a few times on my textured PEI bed, let it sit for a minute and then gave it a good scrub with a microfiber cloth. Since I do that before every print and let it heat up 10 minutes to make sure it’s completely dry I don’t have any adhesion problems anymore.