Mulholland Drive Blue Key

[SquidMan]

Hi everyone!

I recently bought this 3D-printed replica of the mysterious blue key from Mulholland Drive:

I got it from Shapeways, in their "Blue Strong & Flexible Polished" plastic. As you can see it's matte, porous and striated.

The screen-used prop is metallic and perfectly smooth and shiny:

Does anyone have any suggestions of how to best smooth it out and make it look metallic and glossy? I've read that using sandpaper to smooth out the ridges and grit is not recommended as it would destroy the plastic.

Thank you in advance!

 

[veektohr]

I was just watching this again the other day and thought the key would be fun to make. For smoothing out 3-d prints, there are a bunch of techniques. They all involve a ton of sanding, and the use of a filler of some kind, either in the form of primer, or putty for bigger gaps. I've even seen superglue used to great effect for filling in the striations.


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[SquidMan]

I was just watching this again the other day and thought the key would be fun to make. For smoothing out 3-d prints, there are a bunch of techniques. They all involve a ton of sanding, and the use of a filler of some kind, either in the form of primer, or putty for bigger gaps. I've even seen superglue used to great effect for filling in the striations.

Sounds good! Are there any particular paints or glazes that will make the 3D print look metallic and glossy?

 

[19narvik40]

If the material is what I think it is, you will definitely want to fill in the surface. I believe you have a blue version of the Strong, White and Flexible with the key and the SWF is a very thirsty nylon based material. I have two examples of this material myself and it seems to resist sanding, any heavier effort will destroy the detail. I would suggest multiple thin coats of something like Krylon Acrylic primer to give you a surface you can shine to a smooth finish. As for what paint to you, may I suggest a can of automotive paint, the kind you find for small detail repairs. I'm sure you won't have a problem finding a blue metalic to match the key, probably used one for the original prop.

Hi everyone!

I recently bought this 3D-printed replica of the mysterious blue key from Mulholland Drive:

https://i.imgur.com/67YgoCd.jpg

I got it from Shapeways, in their "Blue Strong & Flexible Polished" plastic. As you can see it's matte, porous and striated.

The screen-used prop is metallic and perfectly smooth and shiny:

https://garmonblogzia.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/sciifkey_by_albatrash-d5tjtez.jpg

Does anyone have any suggestions of how to best smooth it out and make it look metallic and glossy? I've read that using sandpaper to smooth out the ridges and grit is not recommended as it would destroy the plastic.

Thank you in advance!

 

[SquidMan]

If the material is what I think it is, you will definitely want to fill in the surface. I believe you have a blue version of the Strong, White and Flexible with the key and the SWF is a very thirsty nylon based material. I have two examples of this material myself and it seems to resist sanding, any heavier effort will destroy the detail. I would suggest multiple thin coats of something like Krylon Acrylic primer to give you a surface you can shine to a smooth finish. As for what paint to you, may I suggest a can of automotive paint, the kind you find for small detail repairs. I'm sure you won't have a problem finding a blue metalic to match the key, probably used one for the original prop.

Thank you so much for the detailed response! I appreciate the help. And yes, that's correct -- I have the blue version of the Strong, White and Flexible Polished plastic.

So after I apply several coats of the Krylon acrylic primer, I should sand it, correct? Or is there a different method I should use to shine it to a smooth finish?

 

[19narvik40]

Thank you so much for the detailed response! I appreciate the help. And yes, that's correct -- I have the blue version of the Strong, White and Flexible Polished plastic.

So after I apply several coats of the Krylon acrylic primer, I should sand it, correct? Or is there a different method I should use to shine it to a smooth finish?

Absolutely, spray several thin coats and after the primer has cured, wet sand the surface until you are satisfied it is smooth enough for you. One reason to spray so many coats is that you want to fill in the porous material to leave as smooth a surface as possible to sand. If you haven't sanded away all the primer, wipe it down with a wet, lint free cloth in preperation for painting it.

 

[SquidMan]

Absolutely, spray several thin coats and after the primer has cured, wet sand the surface until you are satisfied it is smooth enough for you. One reason to spray so many coats is that you want to fill in the porous material to leave as smooth a surface as possible to sand. If you haven't sanded away all the primer, wipe it down with a wet, lint free cloth in preperation for painting it.

Noted! Thank you for the help!

Hope to post an update soon after I've done this.

 

[19narvik40]

Noted! Thank you for the help!

Hope to post an update soon after I've done this.

I was just reminded by a modelbuilding friend that you cannot paint enamal or laquer based paints over an acrylic primer or paint. You can however paint acrylic over enamal or laquer based paint. Before you do anything to the key, find your final colour for it and find out whether it is enamal or acrylic because that will determine what primer you can use. I'm betting that if you use an automotive paint for the finish, it will be enamal/laquer based. Sorry I didn't remember this sooner.

 

[SquidMan]

I was just reminded by a modelbuilding friend that you cannot paint enamal or laquer based paints over an acrylic primer or paint. You can however paint acrylic over enamal or laquer based paint. Before you do anything to the key, find your final colour for it and find out whether it is enamal or acrylic because that will determine what primer you can use. I'm betting that if you use an automotive paint for the finish, it will be enamal/laquer based. Sorry I didn't remember this sooner.

Thank you for the info! So, just to be clear, if the blue metallic paint I want to use is acrylic, then it doesn't matter if I use acrylic, enamel or lacquer primer. But if the metallic blue paint I want to use is enamel or lacquer based, I can only use enamel primer. Correct?

 

[19narvik40]

Thank you for the info! So, just to be clear, if the blue metallic paint I want to use is acrylic, then it doesn't matter if I use acrylic, enamel or lacquer primer. But if the metallic blue paint I want to use is enamel or lacquer based, I can only use enamel primer. Correct?

You've got it right. Can't wait to see the end result, Good Luck !!

 

[SquidMan]

You've got it right. Can't wait to see the end result, Good Luck !!

Thanks again for the thorough explanation. Will be making this sometime in the near future, and will definitely post pics.

 

[Kitty Butler]

I commissioned a 3D artist to model this for me a few years ago. Not happy with the way it turned out, after I sent sketches and screenshots of how it should look. Yours looks much better! I forget what plastic I ordered it in, but I was so unhappy with it, I never bothered finishing it

 

[SquidMan]

I commissioned a 3D artist to model this for me a few years ago. Not happy with the way it turned out, after I sent sketches and screenshots of how it should look. Yours looks much better! I forget what plastic I ordered it in, but I was so unhappy with it, I never bothered finishing it

Thanks! And that's unfortunate. If you or anyone else is interested in buying the same key I have, it's sold here for only $15 (in the same material I got it in).

 

[Astrobeej]

Hey SquidMan, glad you like the key! I sweated a lot over the 3d model, working from dozens of HD screen grabs.

When I finish a model I've had printed at Shapeways, I use a liberal slathering of Liquitex modeling paste on if first, then a lot of sanding before painting. It's made from marble dust suspended in a gel medium, dries quickly, and sands super smooth. Then I just hit it with gloss royal blue spray paint. It's not perfect, so if you come up with a better paint, I'd like to know!


Thanks!
Beej

 

[SquidMan]

Hey SquidMan, glad you like the key! I sweated a lot over the 3d model, working from dozens of HD screen grabs.

When I finish a model I've had printed at Shapeways, I use a liberal slathering of Liquitex modeling paste on if first, then a lot of sanding before painting. It's made from marble dust suspended in a gel medium, dries quickly, and sands super smooth. Then I just hit it with gloss royal blue spray paint. It's not perfect, so if you come up with a better paint, I'd like to know!

View attachment 775979
Thanks!
Beej

Hi Astrobeej,

Thanks so much for providing the 3D prints of the key and the box, now! They are awesome.

Yours looks great! What makes you say the paint isn't perfect? Is the color not quite accurate?

 

[Astrobeej]

Hi Astrobeej,
What makes you say the paint isn't perfect? Is the color not quite accurate?

It's about the right hue, but it doesn't look metallic. I don't want to go with a metal flake, but there's a certain "shimmer" missing. I just used a Krylon royal blue, and it looks OK, but not magical. I may try a clear coat to give it more depth.

 

[Patattack]

I used a spray can of Tamiya 86016, Metallic Blue on the Shapeways key after a bit of sanding and filling, and it turned out great!

 

[SquidMan]

It's about the right hue, but it doesn't look metallic. I don't want to go with a metal flake, but there's a certain "shimmer" missing. I just used a Krylon royal blue, and it looks OK, but not magical. I may try a clear coat to give it more depth.

Ah I see. It's definitely not metal flake, you're right. But it has that distinct metal look somehow.

I used a spray can of Tamiya 86016, Metallic Blue on the Shapeways key after a bit of sanding and filling, and it turned out great!

Can we see a pic?

 

[Patattack]

Ah I see. It's definitely not metal flake, you're right. But it has that distinct metal look somehow.



Can we see a pic?

Sure! It's hard to capture the metallic sheen, but I got a shot in sunlight and one in incandescent light, hopefully that shows the color variance.

 

[SquidMan]

Sure! It's hard to capture the metallic sheen, but I got a shot in sunlight and one in incandescent light, hopefully that shows the color variance.

View attachment 776878View attachment 776879

That looks awesome! Very metallic and perfectly smooth! Could you post (somewhat) detailed instructions of your process? I'd love to be able to get mine to look as flawless as yours!