3D Resin Printing : Best Buy Resins
A 3D resin printer is useless without the uv-sensitive resin that makes it work. There are hundreds of resins on the market right now and I regularly get sent free bottles to try. Folks rarely get to hear about this as my thoughts on most of these resins is, “Meh…”
Fortunately, there are some that really grab my attention; resins that print beautifully, hold their shape, aren’t too messy or stinky, and make the prints really shine.
Here I’ve listed the 3D resins I’ve personally owned, thoroughly tested, and actually feel are good enough to tell you about. I’ve even ranked them in order of recommendation. Prices aren’t included as these change too frequently, but I have included convenient price links so you can check the money side of things out for yourself..
VogMan’s Best 3D Resin Pick
| RESIN | MY RANKING |
COMMENTS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anycubic DLP Craftsman | #1 | Grey is my favourite. This is NOT just for DLPs but works very well on all the printers I´ve used. It´s precise, easy to clean, and great to use. You´ll see it used in a lot of my videos. | |
| Anycubic Water-Wash Resin+ | #2 | Grey is my favourite. My favourite water-based resin. Great definition and easy cleanup. | |
| Phrozen Aqua-Grey 4K | #3 | Another high detail, easy use resin, slightly thicker than the Anycubic range, but very good. | |
| Phrozen Aqua-Grey 8K | #4 | Probably a tiny bit more precise than the Aqua 4K, I find this a little more brittle on thin sections, but still a great detail resin. | |
| Elegoo 8K | #5 | Elegoo's venture into detail resin and I like it a lot. Space Grey is gorgeous. | |
| Siraya Tech Fast | #6 | ST Fast is a great resin which captures detail well. It has a slight sheen which does not capture well of video, so you don't see me use it much, and it has a strong odour. My favorite is Navy Grey. |
VogMan’s Best "Fast" 3D Resin Pick
I’m not a major fan of sold-called "Fast" printing as it invariably requires special resins and very thick layers. However, I’ve tried a few appropriate resins and here are my thoughts.
| RESIN | MY RANKING |
COMMENTS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creality Fast Resin | #1 | Thin with a nice colour (the grey that is), it performs well with good detail. However, some tiny holes can appear that may need filling. | |
| Anycubic High Speed Resin | #2 | Much like Creality Fast (grey) though a shade darker. Again I saw some tiny holes that needed filling, though nothing excessive. |
VogMan’s Best "Speciality" 3D Resin Pick
A speciality resin does something, well, special. Maybe it's super strong, really flexible or glows in the darks. The below are examples that I've used, and they do work!
| RESIN | COMMENTS | |
|---|---|---|
| Elegoo Thermochromic | Changes colour from grey to purple when heated about above 50 degree Celsius. I used it to build the body of my Resin Heater. Easy to print with, no obvious odour, works well. | |
| Siraya Tech Blu | Strong and tough, this attractive clear blue resin is great when you need something for high-strength and non-fragile functional prints. Strong odour, but a strong resin. | |
| Siraya Tech Tenacious | Highly flexible and impact resistant. Many miniature lovers mix this with regular resins to make their models less brittle. A very clever product. |
VogMan’s Best "Castable" 3D Resin Pick
Castable resin is used in a process called Lost Resin Casting, where a model printed using castable resin is encased in special plaster, fired in an oven at very high temperatures burning away the print, only to have the remaining void filled with molten metal. If that’s not clear, this video will help, but needless to say, castable resins are not for everyone.
| RESIN | MY RANK | MY REVIEW | COMMENTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siraya Tech Cast (Purple) | #1 |  |
Excellent resin at a very competitive price. I've used this in doesn't of Lost Resin Casting videos so look to my YouTube Channel. It works as well as the very expensive brands, but it's cheaper and more easily available - you can buy it from Amazon. | |
| Siraya Tech True Blue | #2 | |
Siraya Tech's second castable resin, this one has a higher wax content. Whilst this makes the prints a little more fragile, many believe wax improves the burn out process. | |
| Bluecast X One | #3 | |
Heavy supports are a must with this resin but if you can cope with that it's a fabulous choice. Excellent detail and perfect burnout. The downside is finding it. I've placed a link to the main website. From there look for a Reseller in you area. | |
| Liqcreate Wax Castable | #4 | |
Great resin and a helpful company providing common printer settings. High Wax content so this resin is solid at less than 18C, so warmth is a must. Other than that, it prints very nicely and casts perfectly. Just follow the instructions on my video. | |
| ResinWorks EasyCast 200 | #5 | |
Prints well though does require so thick-tipped supports and plenty of them to avoid sagging. The resin can be printed at cool temperatures, which is a big advantage over the competition, most of whom require mid 20's C minimum. Availability is tricky, so use the Reseller search page (linked here). | |
| Power Resins | #9 | |
Best and worst: If you're making a LOT of money from selling castings, then this may be for you. It is the best I've tried. Prints easy, casts perfectly and costs a fortune. The price I could forgive but Power Resins show no interest in helping their customers use their product. Shame. I've tried Burn, Wax, Dark and Opaque. All brilliant. |
About the Price Links
IF YOU ARE going to buy one of these printers, I’d be grateful if you could do it by clicking one of the links I provide. This will not cost you any extra but in some cases it can generate a small commission for me. And before the cynics say anything, no, my ranking system is NOT biased in favour of commissions… that’s not my style. These commissions aren't enough to change anyone's life, though they can help me cover the costs of this website and my various channels. However, I'd prefer to lose these commissions and speak honestly, rather than deceive someone out of hundreds so that I can earn pennies.