Sanded and Ready: Clone Trooper Armor Finishing Service

Not every client wants a fully painted piece — some prefer to apply their own colors. This build documents our full sanding and prep service on a complete Phase II Clone Trooper armor set: everything done up to and including primer, handed over perfectly ready for the client's own paint work.

Why a Sanding Service?

3D printed armor straight off the bed has visible layer lines. For display or cosplay use, those lines need to go. Many of our clients want to paint their own builds — either for the creative satisfaction or to match a specific custom clone scheme — but don't want to spend hours on surface prep. That's exactly what this service covers.

The Set

A full Phase II Clone Trooper armor set — chest, back plate, both pauldrons, thigh plates, shins, gauntlets, and helmet — printed in PLA for the client who specified this was a display build. Every part was printed at 0.12mm layer height for the best possible starting surface.

Stage 1 — Dry Fit and Inspection

Before touching sandpaper, all parts are dry-fitted to confirm they match the client's measurements and that no piece warped during printing. Any geometric issues get corrected here — not after sanding.

Stage 2 — Progressive Sanding

Each plate was hand-sanded through 120, 220, 400 and 600 grit. Curved surfaces got a flexible sanding block to follow the geometry without flattening them. Tight recesses — detail grooves, panel corners — were worked with folded sandpaper and a small sanding stick. The goal at each stage: no scratches visible from the previous grit before moving to the next.

Stage 3 — Filler Prime and Re-sand

One coat of grey filler primer was applied to the whole set and left to cure for 24 hours. The primer reveals low spots, pinholes and any remaining texture that dry sanding missed. Light re-sanding at 600 and 800 grit on the primer coat brought every surface to a genuinely smooth state.

Handoff

The complete set was delivered in this state: fully primed, smooth, clean, and ready for the client's own brush or airbrush. They painted it in custom Coruscant Guard red — that part of the story belongs to them.

Want your prints sanded and prepped to this standard? Visit our Sanding & Painting Services page or contact us at contact@nmtsworkshop.com.