Hey guys,
Today I’m reviewing the Elegoo Water Washable printer resin. Right now it’s only available
in Germany and the US I believe, but production has been cranked up and this will soon be
on sale everywhere.
So, what’s the big deal?
Well, as the name suggests, it’s water washable. That means items come straight off the printer
and into water. You still need gloves as these resins aren’t necessarily good on the skin,
but it dramatically reduces the amount of alcohol needed for rinsing and cleaning prints.
But what about the print quality?
Looking at the AmeraLabs calibration print, I decided to do a standard and washable resin
print comparison. Now this fabulous free resource is much more sophisticated than my requirements
here, but the issue was one of size – the print was much smaller than I expected. I
honestly think I damaged the print in places just handling it.
Still, I was pleasantly surprised how well the Elegoo Mars printer did, using just these
basic settings for both resins – with no other tricks or adjustments.
Now for me the washable resin did really well. If your eye is anything like mine, you may
be tempted to think it’s actually even a bit better than the standard resin, but I
think that’s just a colour differences I have here. The grey looks sharper and more
detailed than the blue, but in truth I think they’re exactly the same.
Looking for a slightly larger comparison, I was thumbing through Thingiverse when I
came across these excellent models by jimsbeans. Out of courtesy I contacted the creator and
asked if I could use some of his prints this video, and of course with typical Maker goodwill
he said yes.
Through doing this I noticed the washable resin seemed slightly less viscous and dripped
clean much faster than the standard resin.
With thin sections, the standard resin was more flexible than the washable.
When cutting, I found the washable resin actually cut a little easier.
They both file and sand equally well, but the washable was just a tad firmer, but nothing
major.
When assembled with a little superglue, these miniatures look excellent, almost as good
as the Warhammer kits I’ve bought over the years. I think Warhammer just has the edge
on quality and definition, but for a home printer and just basic printing knowledge,
these are amazing quality.
Whilst the grey might fool your eye into thinking it’s better, for me the washable and standard
resins are equally matched. But I have to say, I much preferred using the washable resin.
Alcohol is expensive and unless money is no object, we’re all a little frugal with the
amount we use. But with water, I found I was much happier to change the washing solution
2 or 3 times, getting rid of more surplus resin than I normally would.
Add to that the fact that it drains easier, cuts better and handles just as well as the
standard resin, I think the cost cutting implications of less alcohol make this washable resin very
desirable.
So as a whole, the Elegoo Water Washable Resin gets a thumbs up from me.
If you have any thoughts or questions, as always drop me a line below.
I hope you enjoyed this review guys. Take care and thanks for watching.