Adhesion aids.

[bdejong11129]

Recently I have been far more active in printing.   Retirement will give you that extra time, lol.  But, depending on the plate, the material, etc., I just got tired of tweaking to get prints to stick.  Reading forums there are two products that are mentioned more than others.  Magigoo and NANO Adhesive.  So, I bought both and have been putting them through the prints lately.  Here are my observations and opinions. 

I tested these only on PLA and ASA so far, no PETG or TPU or ABS...yet.

BOTH will make prints stick to the bed.
They both deliver on what they state they can do, make a print stick. 

Magigoo

• Better application - I like the ease of application with the applicator that is built in. 
• Sticks parts - Everything has stuck, if I followed the directions and re-applied as directed, nothing has let go of the build plate under normal printing. It will not prevent ASA from warping if you are stupid and leave the doors open, lol. Yes, I did that.
• Easy clean up - A damp rag and wiping down the plate @ every 3 prints is what I have been doing and its been perfect so far. 
• Residue on the print - They come off the plate clean. I mean clean. 

Nano Adhesive

• Not so great application.  They give you a very cheap acid brush that let off bristles on first use.  I saw that in the past it was a foam brush and that would be better.  I have used the supplied brush and a foam applicator and the foam is better. 
• Sticks parts - Man, does it stick parts.  They were "stuck like chuck" to quote my favorite YouTube judge. If the part don't stick, use this and it will. 
• Easy Clean up - So far, yes, cleans off the build plate easily as any other I have used. 
• Residue on the print - This is where it falls apart, there is a residue that you have to scrub off.  Some parts just don't clean up.  So if the front face sis not down or its an internal small part then go for it.  Not a major residue, but its a white residue that is visible. 

I think they both have a place in my arsenal and I will continue to use them but Magigoo is my goto for every print until I have something that needs the power of Nana and does not have a visible surface that is on the build plate. 

[Jerazmus]

I use visionminer. The white on the bottom of prints isn’t residue. It’s stress marks from the plate adhesion. Run a lighter over the white marks and watch them disappear. 

[bdejong11129]

I was able to get rid of them, eventually. I don't know about them being stress marks but the Magigoo has none of that so for most prints its easier to use. 

[Methos]

I’ve been using this for years, used it with all the filament you mention plus others never have lifting:

 

solid: 70% PVP-K30 + 30% PVA by mass

liquid: 50% of 99% iso + 50% distilled water by mass mix to till consistent 

A good starting point is 500ml of liquid and 100g of powder

 

[Jerazmus]

I use visionminer. The white on the bottom of prints isn’t residue. It’s stress marks from the plate adhesion. Run a lighter over the white marks and watch them disappear. 

[NikosSprocket]

Never used any bed adhesive. I mostly use Textured PEI for PLA, ASA, ABS, TPU-95A and TPE-83A.

I clean the plates with a dedicated sponge after every print with 1:13 solution of Simple Green - SMP13406 Extreme Aircraft and Precision Cleaner and water. It sounds expensive, but 1 gallon will last me many, many months, as long as don't use any with the Ultrasonic cleaner. Some dishwasher liquids will work also, as long as they do not have any "hand softening" ingredients. I used to use our dishwasher liquid but one day after I clean the plates nothing will stick! I am talking 100% failure! The manufacturer of the dishwasher soap has added some hand softening ingredients in their product!

Also, bed temperature is very important. PLA: 60, ASA/ABS: 115, TPU/TPE: 50 deg. Celsius.

[billbrach]

On 8/9/2025 at 9:29 PM, Methos said:

I’ve been using this for years, used it with all the filament you mention plus others never have lifting:

solid: 70% PVP-K30 + 30% PVA by mass

liquid: 50% of 99% iso + 50% distilled water by mass mix to till consistent 

A good starting point is 500ml of liquid and 100g of powder

So what you are saying is you use 70 grams of PVP-K30 powder, add 30 grams of PVA powder to that.  Then you add 250ml of 99% ISO to 250ml of distilled water and stir in the powder ?? How often do you have to clean the build plate, and re-apply the the mix ??  And, I wonder if 91% ISO would work, as that is commonly available in the US. Edited to correct PVA-K30 --> PVP-K30

Edited August 11, 2025 by billbrach

[Methos]

In my example, you do the following.

Mix up 70g PVP and 30g PVA.

Make up 250g of ISO and 250g of distilled water.

Mix the two parts.

As to your question, of 91% ISO, what is the other 9%? If it's just water, then you can adjust the ratio to account for it.
 

I generally clean my plates every few months and re-add after its dry.

Edited August 11, 2025 by Methos
Spelling

[billbrach]

1 hour ago, Methos said:

In my example, you do the following.

Mix up 70g PVP and 30g PVA.

Make up 250g of ISO and 250g of distilled water.

Mix the two parts.

As to your question, of 91% ISO, what is the other 9%? If it's just water, then you can adjust the ratio to account for it.
 

I generally clean my plates every few months and re-add after its dry.

Got it, just wanted to make sure.  91% alcohol and 9% distilled water.

Edited August 11, 2025 by billbrach

[claudermilk]

I use Visionminer and it's worked great for me. I ditched the acid brush and just use a paper towel. I'm also not really getting any noticeable residue. The white is stress marks; hit the part with a heat gun and they magically disappear (it also helps with minor stringing).

[Penatr8tor]

15 minutes ago, claudermilk said:

I use Visionminer and it's worked great for me. I ditched the acid brush and just use a paper towel. I'm also not really getting any noticeable residue. The white is stress marks; hit the part with a heat gun and they magically disappear (it also helps with minor stringing).

Bingo!

Only thing I'd add is that I do an alcohol wipe between prints. It helps spread around already applied adhesive and stretches the life a bit. I go 4-5 prints before I need to re-apply.

[therm_virtual0y]

So many options and tricks out there and the one that’s always worked for me no matter what is good ol hairspray.  It last a long time and it’s cheapish.  Used to get it at the dollar store for $1.  Dollar store closed so now Amazon has a four pack for $16. 

[billbrach]

So, with the Aqua Net, I'm guessing you carry your build plate outdoors, and spray it there ??  Would be nice if you could buy this stuff in liquid form, without the propellant !!

[therm_virtual0y]

Yea I haven’t thought too much about that unfortunately.  I also have a plastic extrusion machine (3D printer) cranking out VOC’s in my basement.  It does have a carbon, P100 filter system that recirculates the air in the printer, and if it was really airtight would probably get most of the bad stuff.  Probably should do a oven hood exhaust or something anyway.

[Penatr8tor]

Aquanet works really well, and I used it for a long time on both my old Tevo Tornado bed slinger and my Voron 2.4. The issue I had wasn’t with adhesion but with the spray can application. When you spray it, a mist floats around, and while it’s not noticeable at first, over time it builds up, creates a mess, and releases a good amount of off-gassing when heating the bed. Now, I’m exclusively using Nano Polymer, and I’m about halfway through a small bottle I bought nearly a year ago.

[bdejong11129]

Since my original post I have been using these two in the following situations.

Vision Miner - Will stick ABS and ASA very well.  I have had the tray for the box turtle lift a bit when using Magigoo, If I put vision miner down they stay put.  Its almost overkill for PLA and I wouldn't think of using it with TPU or PETG.  I have not done so but they stick hard enough so I don't think it would be a good choice.    See below comment from Penatr8tor about his success with TPU. 

Magigoo - Works well enough for PLA and as a release agent for PETG and TPU.  I have had varying success when using it for large ABS or ASA parts. 

So for me, I will keep both on hand and use them based on the situation.  They don't take much on the little 0.2 build plate and for the larger 2.4 printers I just apply when needed and where needed. An additional item that I have transitioned to are the BiQU Cryogrip Pro Glacier build plates.  While the color doesn't quite blend well with the printers coloring I am impressed with the adhesion and quality so far.  I did this after seeing it mentioned in another post here.  The texture is very nice and while not smooth its also not the rocky mountains.  Its a good balance between what I have used from FysTek and WhamBam.  The WhamBam was far too smooth and was super sensitive to any surface defect.  even small scratches from removing parts delaminated the material.  Very disappointed given the cost and time it took to get them to me. 

Edited August 29, 2025 by bdejong11129

[Penatr8tor]

I printed a few TPU parts with the Vision Miner Nano and they released (more like peeled off) without issue, so I'll stick with the Nano. I think what's important to note is that materials like TPU, when thot, want to crosslink with materials like PEI. So, anything that can function as a barrier coating between the PEI and the TPU will work. In the end it's all good, from Nano to blue painters' tape to everything in between. As long as there's something in between. 

[bdejong11129]

Excellent to hear that it doesn't perma-bond the TPU. Have you tried it with PETG at all?

[mvdveer]

2 hours ago, bdejong11129 said:

xcellent to hear that it doesn't perma-bond the TPU. Have you tried it with PETG at all?

I have and PETG releases well. Important to let the plate cool before attempting to release the part (PETG especially)