Colors

Available Colors

kuat print yards colors

 White Gray Black Brown Red Yellow* Orange Leaf Green* Blue* Purple
Marble Agate Grey Glitter Black Light Brown Wine Red Yellow (t)* Blue Green Cobalt Blue* Lavender
Crystal (t)* Dark Grey Olive Brown Pink Gold (t)* Dark Green (t)* Light Blue*
Ivory* Olive Green* Blue-Gray*
Light Ivory*

 

Details on Specific Colors

Translucent

The most important thing to know in addition to the above information is that some colors are translucent. What does that mean? Consider this picture of a generic dial cover printed in dark green laying on top of some target locks. See the left side of the image where you can see the white target lock through the dial cover? This is what I call "translucent." Translucent colors are marked with (t) in the color options to help you remember.

dark green dial cover overlayed on target locks to show translucent effect

There are four colors I currently have in stock that behave in this way: Crystal (t), Yellow (t), Gold (t), and Dark Green (t)

The rest of the colors are opaque.

I am looking to source high quality, consistent opaque versions of the translucent colors.

The Blues

I have more blue color options than any other color. Blue-Gray is the color of many imperial ships. The other three blues are shown here from left to right as Blue, Cobalt Blue, and Light Blue. You can see that Blue is actually decently dark on a black background. I prefer Cobalt Blue on a black background and normal Blue on a white background.

Yellow vs Yellow (t) vs Gold (t)

Yellow (opaque) is sort of like a banana yellow. The other two colors look almost the same. Gold (t) is a little more glittery than Yellow (t), which is a very consistent color throughout the filament. That glittery-ness is difficult to photograph. So here's a picture of both exposed to sunlight. Yellow (t) is on the left and Gold (t) is on the right.

The Greens

As mentioned in the section on translucency, Dark Green (t) is translucent and there's a great picture in that section of it. Here's the greens from left to right: Leaf Green, Blue Green, Dark Green (t), Olive Green.

kuat print yards greens

The most important detail here about green is that Leaf Green shows up completely incorrect on cameras. It looks teal, but it is actually closer to traffic green. Here's a picture from ColorFabb's website:

Marble

Marble filament is an off-white with specks of grey. You can see an example here on Grievous' face.

Polylactic Acid (PLA)

All colors (except Blue-Gray, which is a PLA/PHA hybrid) are made from polylactic acid. A biodegradable filament that holds its form well through the rapid heating and cooling process used in 3D printing. It is the most widely used 3D printing material for FDM (fused deposition modeling). I use it because it is easy to print, has more varied and vibrant colors, and helps keep costs low due to its availability and price compared to other popular 3D printing materials such as ABS and PETG.

Some things you should know about PLA.

It can warp and deform if left in a hot area. By hot, I mean 140°F(60°C). Some car interiors in very hot sunny climates can reach 140°F. So you're better off not leaving these products in a very hot car.

PLA, like most plastics, degrades if exposed to UV light for an extensive period of time. How long? Think months of constant sun exposure. This will cause the plastic to become brittle and also may cause discoloration depending on the color it was printed as.

In summary, don't leave your accessories outside in the sun and don't leave them in your car on a bright sunny summer day. I include a business card sized reminder in every shipment with this information.

Suppliers and Quality

I source filament from the following suppliers.

Inland (MicroCenter brand): White, Grey (Silver), Black, Brown, Light Brown, Red, Pink, Yellow, Yellow (t) (PLA+), Gold (t), Dark Green (t), Olive Green (PLA+), Blue, Cobalt Blue, Light Blue, Purple

Hatchbox: Orange (True Orange)

Proto Pasta: Glitter Black (Empire Strikes)

ColorFabb: Blue-Grey (PLA/PHA), Olive Green, Wine Red, Olive Brown, Blue Green, Agate Grey, Dark Grey, Ivory, Light Ivory

Other: Leaf Green, Lavender

Filament sourced from Inland, Hatchbox, Proto Pasta, and ColorFabb are reliable in quality and consistently available. The colors should be the same between spools/batches of filament. Filaments listed as other are one-off colors and should not be expected to remain consistent between batches/spools. I am looking for quality filament sources to replace the colors listed under Other. This page will be updated once that happens.