Fixing The Seam…
After much research, I have found that it’s possible to “weld” 3D printed pieces together using filament and a Dremel. Let’s give it a try…
The theory is, you are melting the plastic together, like welding metal.
My first attempt on the back of the armor piece doesn’t look too bad, I guess?
Starting on the front.
Front finished.
Now, to smooth the bead down, I used a metal file to take the majority off.
Followed by a medium grit sandpaper…
Which exposed all of the gaps & low spots.
I added some glazing putty to the seam area.
Once the glazing putty was dry, I sanded it down with medium grit sandpaper.
Now, it’s time to add the physical damage. I printed out the painting templates to use as a placement guide.
Comparing the templates and actual screen shots I marked the damaged area with a pencil.
I then used my soldering iron to heat up the plastic to create the dents.
The results:
After more studying of the screen shots, I noticed the dents aren’t just smooth dents, like you see on most of the vac-formed armor. So, I decided to add a bit more detail to the dents to try and make it a bit more screen accurate.
More detail added.
Then, the entire piece got a thin coating of glazing putty. This should help smooth out the print lines, as well.