Gizmo Dorks PEI Sheet: Ideal 3D Printer Build Surface for Easy Removal

Sergey Ryazantsev: Very good

United States on Aug 22, 2023

EDED: I, too, was super careful with my first PEI sheet. No oils or fingerprints, IPA only, no spatula, etc. PLA was good. ABS wasn't great. PETg was better with magigoo. The only real advantage I saw was that it was indeed easier to remove once it cooled. It wasn't until it was damaged after a 100 hours of use that I was reading about how to restore PEI's grip and ran across SANDING! 400 grit to 220 grit. I did this and, whoa!, everything sticks like crazy now! Especially ABS (once you get the build chamber to around 100F or higher) and it never warps, as you can see in the attached picture of two yellow PCIe brackets that was printed in ABS - no raft, no brim. My only problem is ABS sticks too well, with perfect 1st layer heights. I found that once the build plate cools to around 50C, if you place alcohol all around the ABS print and let it soak in for about 5 to 15 minutes, most of the corners will let go from the seeping. I haven't even attempted PETg yet as it sticks too hard with ABS and PLA already.

United States on Oct 03, 2022

Chas C: So, the good.
1. Application is easy. Peel off sticker, carefully lay on bed and squeeze out air as you go. The sheet is quite thick so it can't really warp and trap air like thin sheets can.
2. Bed adhesion seems perfect. Holds when it's hot, lets go when it's not. I have only tested it with ABS for now.
And now, the bad. It's one thing, but it's major. I applied carefully and did my best to squeeze out all the air, but the glue on the underside has... issues. It almost appeared granular, and though there weren't any air bubbles trapped, the uneveness and texture of the glue means I know have lots of tiny bubbles under the sheet, that have gradually been growing into larger bubbles that are making the build surface lumpy and unuseable. I have attempted to push the bubbles to the edge of the sheet but I haven't had any luck so far. I am going to keep trying and see what I can do. I hope i can get the sheet removed and I will just hold it on with binder clips.
UPDATE: I placed my bed in the freezer overnight, which deactivated the adhesive and I easily peeled the PEI off the sheet. I used acetone to soften the glue on the glass sheet and scraped it off with a razor...

United States on Dec 31, 2021

SCOTTSCOTT: I love Gizmo Dork's sample size filament, but they deserve some criticism over their packaging and branding on this one because it is completely and totally avoidable and therefore inexcusable. I'm talking about their branding and instructions sticker!
It's a PEI protective cover with a peel-off adhesive back-side from a company that makes and sells plastic filament - and they stick a huge arse white 'paper' sticker on the FRONT surface of the PEI. They could use a plastic sticker that is easy to peel off in one piece or put the sticker on the peel off back, but instead they put it on the build surface itself. Trying to remove it, damaged my PEI surface! So I already have scratches and removed material on my build plate before I even install it. Because it's inferior? NO, because they put a stupid paper sticker on it! So now I have removed surface material, scratches and icky-sticky glue on my build plate! Not because it was poorly built, but because they attached a paper sticker on the build surface!
Bad idea! Totally avoidable. Boo Gizmo Dorks.

Addendum: They claim there is a protective sheet over it and the sticker is connected to the protective sheet. I got it...

United States on May 08, 2021

E. White: I bought this to replace the stock surface on my little Monoprice IIIP Mini v1. After removing the old surface I cut this down a little on one side to fit my bed. I applied it by peeling back the adhesive cover liner a about an inch and a half and lined up the PEI sheet at one end of the bed and began applying pressure evenly across the sheet as I slowly continued to peel the adhesive cover back from underneath it. This allowed me to work it down from one end across the bed slowly to ensure that I did not get and bubbles. It sticks to my unheated aluminum bed plate really, really well. I hope this lasts for awhile because I'm not looking forward to trying to remove it but that's ok. I do not want this thing pulling up when I have a print that is stuck down hard. For my first few prints I got away with nothing but a clean PEI surface. Just an alcohol cleaning before the first layer went down. It worked very well. Then I had to use a little bit of glue stick to keep my prints adhering well and that is expected since my bed does NOT heat up. I have only printed PLA so I can't comment on other materials but this sheet is a great surface. I have only had a couple of prints peel up and...

United States on Jan 28, 2020