[jagoldman]

I have my own 3D printer in my house that I sometimes do this process on. It only works with ABS plastics.

To start off, when looking at what kind of filament you want to use, I would look at what the parts you are making will be used for and what stresses they will under go. For example, PLA is stiffer and can withstand more pressure than ABS, but PLA is more brittle while ABS is more flexible.

Moving on to your question, the process dissolves away the ABS plastic. When all the vapor exits the part, the part regains full strength. However, while the acetone vapor is still in the part, it continues to melt away at the plastic and make it weaker. This means that even if the part doesn't look done while you have it in the chamber, it will be ready to take out. Be careful when removing parts from the vapor chamber because if you press too hard, you can deform the part. Additionally be this process can make things sag.

In the past, my team has used PLA on our robot without any problems, and if the tolerances were off, we would use sandpaper, files, and drill bits to correct. I see no real purpose of polishing a part like that or any reason to use ABS instead of PLA.

For personal items this is a really cool way to make random objects look cooler, and its also fun to experiment with the times, temps, and amount of acetone used.

Good luck with your printer and your projects.