After I made a handful of prints with my Form 1, I noticed that sometimes objects were staying sticker than I expected, even after I gave them plenty of time to dry off from the alcohol rinse. Clean alcohol solved that!
What I do now is use my tub of alcohol to get most of the excess resin off, then give my print a good squirt out of the wash bottle using fresh alcohol. And I do that over the tub of alcohol, so it doesn’t get wasted.
An alternative method is to use two baths of isopropanol to perform serial rinses. One primary, ‘dirtier’ isopropanol bath for an initial rinse of 2 min agitation, 10 min soak. Once most of the resin is removed, you place your part in a second bath with cleaner isopropanol for a final rinse.
This might help keep your parts cleaner, and reduce your use of isopropanol.
That’s a great idea! Any suggestions on where one could buy a second tub like the one that comes with the Form 1 for the “clean” bath?
Problem with 2 baths is that the second bath will eventually increase in concentration also. Admittedly it will be slower but it will happen. Remember IPA evaporates so when in use the concentration of the resin will increase as the alcohol dissipates to atmosphere.
For the best results I think it will be better to do what you were doing to start with Martin. Dip in the tank and then rinse with the wash bottle. That way you know every item has been cleaned consistently. Consumption of alcohol will be slightly higher I suspect, but in terms of cost will be small when looking at the cost of the whole process.
When bath 2 gets too dirty, dump bath 1 down the drain and dump bath 2 into bath 1. Of course the alcohol won’t last forever, it’s just a matter of conserving as much time and materials as possible.
Yes that would work Jonathan, but you always have some contamination in the bath that way. But to be fair both methods will work fine I am sure.
On a Health and Safety front, I am not too sure it would be a safe / legal thing to pour waste IPA down your sink. You should check with your local authorities on that one. Certainly over here in the UK it is not allowed. This stuff is flammable (flash point 10°C -11°C for the higher 98% purity) we have to treat it with some respect and responsibility.
Hmm. I hadn’t considered that. We don’t have our Form 1 yet but I am wondering, what is the proper way to dispose of the contaminated alcohol? And, no, I’m not going to drink it. 
G.
you could burn off the alcohol. Add a little citronella oil, and use it to keep the mosquitos away
I’ve been thinking about the alcohol, and the clear resin going cloudy. I’m wondering if it is a result of the alcohol, just as alcohol will make acrylic go cloudy. I wonder if we can find another cleaning solution that’ll help keep the crystal clear finish. [I don;t have my printer yet either, just eagerly following along until I do]
About alcohol disposal, i’ve post a subject : http://support.formlabs.com/entries/24017496-Rinsing-bath-how-to-disposal-when-to-change-
Mark makes an interesting point… Is there anything “special” about using the IPA (does it have any effect on the cured resin?) or is it just a handy/cheap solvent to remove the remaining uncured resin off of a print? (Put another way, does the IPA have any ‘post-cure’ impact on the part that is desirable?)
I wonder if you could use an ultrasonic cleaner with water and a detergent of some sort instead? (Run with cool water to avoid heat distortion of the part.)
Not having the resin to hand means I am guessing, but it may be that the uncured resin is fully soluble in the IPA. That may explain why some people describe a tacky feel to the part after it has been soaking.
Will another solvent work?? probably other alcohols will work, you will have to experiment.