Getting first layers"ironed"

[filamentus 0]

I have great results with ironing the top surface, it gets really smooth, but now there is a difference between top and bottom layers. When the print laying down on the print bed is used later as a standing up part, the former bottom part is far less smooth than the ironed top layers. Is there a way to get the bottom layer as smooth as the ironed top layer?

[geert_2 407]

Maybe move your bed closer to the nozzle, or make your first layer thinner, 0.1 or 0.2mm? I get really glossy bottom layers with both PET and PLA. Print on a glass bed, not on tape or some other rough surface.

 

Hard to see in the photos below, because the reflection is out of focus, but these bottom surfaces are high-gloss and do reflect like shiny injection moulded parts.

 

The "copyright design ..." watermark text is hollow and sitting 0.5mm below this glossy bottom surface. For reference: text caps height is 3.5mm, character legs are 0.5mm wide.

 

High-gloss bottom surface of keychains. The ruler is in mm and cm.