Service 06 of 8
Finishing & Assembly
The ninety minutes per unit you hate
Vapour smoothing, dyeing, tumbling, painting, threaded inserts, assembly and kitting — the work that doesn't scale with you.
Post-processing is where maker margins die. It's manual, it's dull, and it's exactly the hour per unit that stops you taking the order. Hand it over and get your evenings back.
- Vapour smoothing, tumbling and hand sanding to a stated grit
- Dye, rattle-can, airbrush and powder-coat finishing
- Heat-set inserts, magnets, bearings and fastener installation
- Multi-part kitting, bagging and insert cards
How the job runs
Every step, and who carries the risk at each one
- 01
Agree the standard
A written finish spec — grit, gloss level, colour reference. Vague briefs produce arguments; a Pantone number and a sample part produce parts.
- 02
Sample first
One unit finished and photographed against the spec. You approve it before the batch runs.
- 03
Batch finishing
Smoothing, dyeing, painting, insert installation, assembly — whatever the spec says, repeated identically.
- 04
Kitting
Bagged, labelled, insert cards added, barcoded if you sell through retail. Ready to ship or ready to store.
On the floor
What actually does the work
- Vapour smoothing
- Acetone chamber for ABS / ASA
- Tumbling
- Vibratory, ceramic and plastic media
- Spray booth
- Rattle-can, airbrush, 2K, RAL and Pantone matched
- Powder coat
- Metal parts only, oven to 200 °C
- Insert press
- M2 – M8 heat-set and press-fit
Pricing
Published, not negotiated
Support removal + sand
Per unit, to a stated grit
$1.10
Vapour smoothing
Per unit, ABS / ASA
$2.40
Paint, single colour
Per unit, primed and top-coated
from $4.80
Inserts and assembly
Per unit, quoted on part count
from $1.60
Volume pricing applies above 50 units. Curated and Studio Partner tiers take 15% off every line.
Recent work
Jobs that came through this service
Generated placeholder imagery — replace with shop photography before launch.
FAQ
About finishing & assembly
Can you finish parts I printed myself?
Yes, and plenty of people do exactly that — print at home overnight, post us the box, get finished units back. Mixed batches of your parts and ours are fine too.
How close can you match a colour?
Pantone or RAL matched on painted finishes, which is close enough that nobody notices. Dyed finishes vary with the polymer, so we sample first and you approve the actual sample, not a number.
What's the minimum batch?
Ten units for most finishes. Below that the setup dominates the cost and you're better off doing it yourself.
Do you do food-safe finishes?
For wood, yes — hard-wax oil and mineral oil. For printed parts we'll advise but we won't certify food contact, because layer lines harbour bacteria regardless of the coating.
Often booked together
Print Overflow
Send us the job your bench can't absorb. We run your files on a managed farm and ship finished parts, not excuses.
$0.18 / gShot & Listed
Studio photography, scale shots, short-form video and listing copy for the things you make.
$120 / productPack & Ship Worldwide
We hold your stock, pick, pack and ship to 38 countries — with the customs paperwork filled in correctly.
$2.40 / order