Sunlu Standard Resin Review

 8/10

Sunlu’s standard gray resin strikes a great balance of affordability and print quality. As of the time of this writing, it is their most affordable line of 3D printing resin for MSLA printers. Print quality is great, with fine details reproduced effortlessly on our Elegoo Saturn 3 test prints.

It should be noted, however, that Sunlu’s standard gray resin is not the most durable nor flexible. Users looking for cheap resin for tabletop miniatures should be careful handling these prints to avoid the heartache that comes with broken models. Still, we genuinely recommend Sunlu’s standard gray resin to people for an affordable, quality resin.

 8/10

Manufacturer: Sunlu

The Pros

The Cons

Paul Chow

Co-Founder & CTO

Published on September 9, 2023

Amazon.com Disclosure: As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: PLEASE READ BEFORE PROCEEDING
This review features the resin product, which has been kindly provided to us by the manufacturer for the purpose of this review. While the manufacturer has supported us by supplying the product, they have not influenced the content of this review in any way. Our assessments and observations are entirely our own, and we have conducted our usual thorough testing to ensure we provide an accurate evaluation of the product. At 3DGearZone, we are committed to transparency and honesty, ensuring that our audience can trust the content we produce.

Sunlu is part of a large number of overseas 3D printer resin manufacturers that provide a wide variety of 3D printing resins for hobbyists and professionals alike. Their standard gray resin is currently the most affordable resin within their lineup, prioritizing pricing over other parameters such as durability, ease of use/clean up, as well as detail reproduction. But is it worth it?

In this review, we will be taking a look at all aspects of this resin, such as its packaging, printing, and cleaning up. We will also be putting it through an extensive series of drop tests. Let’s see whether Sunlu’s standard gray resin is really worth your money.

80

Overall Score

Learn more about our resin review methodology.

Price and Availability

Sunlu’s standard gray resin is amongst the cheapest 3D printing resins we have ever seen. Retailing at $25.99/L, it’s at least $5 cheaper than the “cheapest” resin offered by most of Sunlu’s competitors, making it an excellent option for users looking for the best bang for their buck.

Sunlu offers their resins directly on their website but also on Amazon for those looking to get their hands on it the next day. However, for users willing to wait for overseas shipping, the company often offers bulk deals when purchasing directly from their website. This means their already extremely affordable resin can even be more affordable, if you can believe it.

Packaging

We are happy with the level of packaging Sunlu employs for its resins. The company packages their resins in a colorful cardboard box with the bottles, thankfully, securely bubble wrapped inside. It was probably the reason they survived their long overseas journey to our office. By the way, Sunlu utilizes a rectangular bottle for their resins, which we like. Compared to the cylindrical bottles of many of its competitors, theirs are much easier to grip and store on our shelves. Each bottle is also clearly labeled with the type and color of resin that it contains.

Ease of Use

Sunlu makes it quite easy to use its resins. Their packaging includes a datasheet with exposure times suitable for most resin 3D printers, and their standard gray resin even has a very tolerant temperature range in which it can successfully print. Our office is typically around 22c, so we only had to pour the bottle into our resin vat, and we could print with it right away with no other steps required.

Smell

Like many 3D printer resins, Sunlu’s standard gray resin has an odor, but it’s not very strong. Most modern 3D printers have odor filtration systems that can effectively mitigate the resin’s odor during printing, and we found the filter on our Elegoo Saturn 3 capable of eliminating the resin’s odor while printing. Our review team had no issue being in the same room with the Sunlu standard gray resin.

Cleanup & Post Processing

Nearly all 405nm UV resins used for 3D printing require a solvent to clean off any uncured resin after printing. Sunlu suggests using isopropyl alcohol as the solvent, and we followed this recommendation with the assistance of an ultrasonic cleaner for optimal results. During our tests, we found that Sunlu’s standard resin only needed a single three-minute cleaning cycle to effectively remove all the uncured resin, which aligns with most resins we have reviewed here at 3DGearZone.

The next step in post-processing involves using a UV light source to finalize the curing process and ensure the print is safe to handle. In our tests, we used a 60-watt UV light. We found that Sunlu’s standard resin needed about six to seven minutes in the UV light to eliminate any remaining tackiness and be fully hardened. Overall, the post-processing of the standard gray resin falls within the average range for 3D printing resins we’ve examined thus far.

Detail Reproduction

Despite Sunlu’s standard gray resin being their most affordable one, it does not disappoint in terms of detailed reproduction. For example, when we printed our dragon bust model, all the details came out crisp and sharp, from its fangs down to the scales. However, we were more impressed with the print quality of the 28mm figurine, with minute details such as feathers and knife faithfully reproduced with no printing artifacts.

Finally, we printed a relatively large house model that featured both organic and inorganic shapes, serving as a stress test for the resin when dealing with large and intricate models. We are happy to report that the standard gray resin didn’t miss a beat with reproducing the complicated details in this complex print.

Durability

To test how durable Sunlu’s standard gray resin is, we printed nine of the 28mm miniatures we had, divided them into three groups, and dropped them at three different heights (60cm, 100cm, and 150cm). The latter represents the different heights resin-printed models typically find themselves in, such as a coffee table, a tabletop gaming or printing table, and a shelf. In all three scenarios, some part of the model broke (usually the very thin knife or ankle). Be careful when handling prints using this resin as they tend to be quite fragile.

Flexibility

We used a thin wizard staff model to assess the flexibility of the standard gray resin. In many cases, having some flexibility is good as it can enhance the durability of resin prints and facilitate the assembly of multi-part resin prints. However, in the case of Sunlu’s standard gray resin, we found that it has very little flex, which lends to its brittle and fragile nature.

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3DGearZone.com is a professional review site that receives compensation from the companies whose products we review. We test each product thoroughly and give high marks to only the very best. We don’t guarantee, however, that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services. 3DGearZone.com is independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own.

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Paul Chow

Paul’s been prop making since 2012 and has garnered an extensive experience in woodworking, CNC machining, 3D modelling and printing experience. Getting his first 3D printer in 2016, he dove deep into the world of 3D printer building, repair, upgrading and tinkering. He has built, tested and upgraded dozens of printers ranging from large & small, resin or FDM and ready to print fully custom builds.

Sunlu Standard Resin Review

The Pros

The Cons

80

Price and Availability

Packaging

Ease of Use

Smell

Cleanup & Post Processing

Detail Reproduction

Durability

Flexibility

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