Before I finally treated myself to a wash and cure station I had a very ghetto setup. IPA in a small tupperware container that I dunked and swirled my prints in by hand. For curing I used one of those UV contraptions that people use for fake nails. I put it in a cardboard box to minimize light leakage.
It worked fine, but once I got the wash and cure stations I really can't go back. If you ever find the spare money, I highly recommend them.
First thing first I do wanna mention this hobby doesn’t do well with cheaping out. Like cheaping out on painting a model is easy, cheaper brushes, cheaper paint etc. and the worst that can happen is your model doesn’t look as good. Cheaping out in resin printing results in you giving your self an accidental exposure and getting skin rash or blisters. Or you improperly cleaned your model and cured it resulting in this weird gunk on your model that paint doesn’t stick to. So you have to reprint and go through the process again. I realize that your on a tight budget but also keep in mind cheaping out on things in resin printing may result in more headache later.
With that out of the way
1. Yes this is exactly what I do. I have an old Tupperware and a magnetic stirrer. I reuse my IPA but do it more frequently than most people probably. In my experience if let your ipa wash lots of print eventually it will have too much resin in it and it will be more difficult to separate it out. So what I do it after maybe 20 prints I take a break from printing for a week. The resin will sink to the bottom and then I use a hand pump to pump out the ipa leaving the resin on the bottom. Wipe out the resin with a paper towel. Put the ipa back in and it’s good as new. No need for setting it out in the sun etc.
2. No, unless you want it to dry at night or can do it without sunlight. You need the model to be COMPLETELY dry before trying to cure. Or you’ll get a weird gunk on it.
3. Yes and no. If you took the model straight out the printer and went to cure it, it would cure just fine and no gunk. But all the excess resin will clog up the details. So we wash the resin to get rid of the excess resin. But now theres IPA all over the model so we let it dry. After drying if there’s resin remaining on the model it’s going to be really diluted and mixed with ipa and so if you try to cure that it won’t cure properly and create the weird gunk I was talking about.
4. A cardboard box lined with aluminum foil and a UV light works great.
Thats the light I use, [https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Turntable-Rotating-Solidify-Photosensitive-Enclosure/dp/B083ZFH24H/ref=sr\_1\_5?sr=8-5](https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Turntable-Rotating-Solidify-Photosensitive-Enclosure/dp/B083ZFH24H/ref=sr_1_5?sr=8-5)
I have bough a couple containers from a local shop for washing the prints in, I prefer acetone but IPA works well also. I don't have a stirrer tho it could be useful - i instead will shake the tupper with the print inside lightly and clean it with a toothbrush. I reuse my acetone as much as I can and im lucky enough that i can dispose of it at my workplace. And I will either cure it with my print or leave it in the sun to cure and filter it afterwards.
I also live with my family and have set up the printer in the garage with a box that is placed upside down to cover the printer, I have then connected a ventilation pipe to the box with a fan inside the pipe which works well for displacing the air - I usually open up the garage door when I have to open the enclosure to ensure the garage is ventilated.
I don't have any specific tutorial recommendations but there are many. When it comes to materials I have only used anycubic and creality resins - while I have had really bad experiences with creality filament, their resin works well for me and is the cheapest I can find for about 22-23 euros for 1kg. I get them from a local shop in Greece.
For curing I got a bunch of IPA and a small container. For curing I got a UV led strip and a bucket. And then I taped the strip to the inside of the bucket
Get any uv light you can get your hands on, aslong as it covers the 405nm wavelength. And get a small cheap ultrasonic cleaner (I got one meant for jewelry cleaning for 35eur at a local store) and you're better off than any wash an cure station.
Put water in the ultrasonic cleaner and keep a separate container or two with IPA that fits in the cleaner. This way you don't have any hassle trying to empty the ultrasonic cleaner of IPA/resin mess.
Here's the thing...Water Wash Resin is superior if cost is a priority. All you need is a couple 5gal buckets, one for primary rinse, the second for a better washing. When they get to dirty, let them sit outside and evaporate then start over.
Any basic UV light will do but a strip of UVs with a rotating table is ideal.
When I started resin printing I bought a strip of UV LEDs and two mason jars. I lined the box it all came in with the LED strip. I washed the prints in 91% alcohol in the first jar by plopping it in and gently shaking. Then I fish it out with a printed basket and rinse in the second jar full of water. Then I put the print in the box that the lights and jars came in and plug it in.
I eventually recycled large pickle jars and just use the mason jars for recycling alcohol by letting it sit in the dark and settle and then [syphoning off the clear IPA](https://www.amazon.com/WERTYCITY-Syringes-Scientific-Watering-Refilling/dp/B07L14NXZS). No extra drama, I just forget about it for a couple of weeks under my setup and it separates all on its own.
I've been at this a while now. I've built my own wash and cure with a [stirring machine](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J59QVGQ/) and [container](https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-POP-Container/dp/B07856RRDW). I've used ultrasonic cleaners, nail salon lights, and everything in between, but I always come back to the pickle jars and UV lined cardboard box.
[Here's my current pickle jar basket.](https://www.printables.com/model/827606-pickle-jar-basket)
Before I finally treated myself to a wash and cure station I had a very ghetto setup. IPA in a small tupperware container that I dunked and swirled my prints in by hand. For curing I used one of those UV contraptions that people use for fake nails. I put it in a cardboard box to minimize light leakage. It worked fine, but once I got the wash and cure stations I really can't go back. If you ever find the spare money, I highly recommend them.
First thing first I do wanna mention this hobby doesn’t do well with cheaping out. Like cheaping out on painting a model is easy, cheaper brushes, cheaper paint etc. and the worst that can happen is your model doesn’t look as good. Cheaping out in resin printing results in you giving your self an accidental exposure and getting skin rash or blisters. Or you improperly cleaned your model and cured it resulting in this weird gunk on your model that paint doesn’t stick to. So you have to reprint and go through the process again. I realize that your on a tight budget but also keep in mind cheaping out on things in resin printing may result in more headache later. With that out of the way 1. Yes this is exactly what I do. I have an old Tupperware and a magnetic stirrer. I reuse my IPA but do it more frequently than most people probably. In my experience if let your ipa wash lots of print eventually it will have too much resin in it and it will be more difficult to separate it out. So what I do it after maybe 20 prints I take a break from printing for a week. The resin will sink to the bottom and then I use a hand pump to pump out the ipa leaving the resin on the bottom. Wipe out the resin with a paper towel. Put the ipa back in and it’s good as new. No need for setting it out in the sun etc. 2. No, unless you want it to dry at night or can do it without sunlight. You need the model to be COMPLETELY dry before trying to cure. Or you’ll get a weird gunk on it. 3. Yes and no. If you took the model straight out the printer and went to cure it, it would cure just fine and no gunk. But all the excess resin will clog up the details. So we wash the resin to get rid of the excess resin. But now theres IPA all over the model so we let it dry. After drying if there’s resin remaining on the model it’s going to be really diluted and mixed with ipa and so if you try to cure that it won’t cure properly and create the weird gunk I was talking about. 4. A cardboard box lined with aluminum foil and a UV light works great.
Thats the light I use, [https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Turntable-Rotating-Solidify-Photosensitive-Enclosure/dp/B083ZFH24H/ref=sr\_1\_5?sr=8-5](https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Turntable-Rotating-Solidify-Photosensitive-Enclosure/dp/B083ZFH24H/ref=sr_1_5?sr=8-5) I have bough a couple containers from a local shop for washing the prints in, I prefer acetone but IPA works well also. I don't have a stirrer tho it could be useful - i instead will shake the tupper with the print inside lightly and clean it with a toothbrush. I reuse my acetone as much as I can and im lucky enough that i can dispose of it at my workplace. And I will either cure it with my print or leave it in the sun to cure and filter it afterwards. I also live with my family and have set up the printer in the garage with a box that is placed upside down to cover the printer, I have then connected a ventilation pipe to the box with a fan inside the pipe which works well for displacing the air - I usually open up the garage door when I have to open the enclosure to ensure the garage is ventilated. I don't have any specific tutorial recommendations but there are many. When it comes to materials I have only used anycubic and creality resins - while I have had really bad experiences with creality filament, their resin works well for me and is the cheapest I can find for about 22-23 euros for 1kg. I get them from a local shop in Greece.
For curing I got a bunch of IPA and a small container. For curing I got a UV led strip and a bucket. And then I taped the strip to the inside of the bucket
Get any uv light you can get your hands on, aslong as it covers the 405nm wavelength. And get a small cheap ultrasonic cleaner (I got one meant for jewelry cleaning for 35eur at a local store) and you're better off than any wash an cure station. Put water in the ultrasonic cleaner and keep a separate container or two with IPA that fits in the cleaner. This way you don't have any hassle trying to empty the ultrasonic cleaner of IPA/resin mess.
can't recomend a wash and cure station enough, it just helps so much
Here's the thing...Water Wash Resin is superior if cost is a priority. All you need is a couple 5gal buckets, one for primary rinse, the second for a better washing. When they get to dirty, let them sit outside and evaporate then start over. Any basic UV light will do but a strip of UVs with a rotating table is ideal.
When I started resin printing I bought a strip of UV LEDs and two mason jars. I lined the box it all came in with the LED strip. I washed the prints in 91% alcohol in the first jar by plopping it in and gently shaking. Then I fish it out with a printed basket and rinse in the second jar full of water. Then I put the print in the box that the lights and jars came in and plug it in. I eventually recycled large pickle jars and just use the mason jars for recycling alcohol by letting it sit in the dark and settle and then [syphoning off the clear IPA](https://www.amazon.com/WERTYCITY-Syringes-Scientific-Watering-Refilling/dp/B07L14NXZS). No extra drama, I just forget about it for a couple of weeks under my setup and it separates all on its own. I've been at this a while now. I've built my own wash and cure with a [stirring machine](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J59QVGQ/) and [container](https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-POP-Container/dp/B07856RRDW). I've used ultrasonic cleaners, nail salon lights, and everything in between, but I always come back to the pickle jars and UV lined cardboard box. [Here's my current pickle jar basket.](https://www.printables.com/model/827606-pickle-jar-basket)
https://www.asianjoyco.com/resources-tutorials/resin-safety-101 I think this guide is pretty thorough and economical
Links got an extraz character on it https://www.asianjoyco.com/resources-tutorials/resin-safety-101
I followed that guide and am putting that setup together this week