# Filament answers

Each guide answers in the first sentence. Temperatures in the linked pages are catalog values. An em dash means the record has no number.

- [What filament should a beginner use?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/beginners): A beginner should start with PLA. Prusa calls it one of the easiest materials to print, and the r/3Dprinting beginner threads say to learn PLA before PETG or anything filled.
- [How do I get good PLA prints?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/pla_print): Most PLA failures are the first layer, a wet or cheap spool, or the temperature. Clean the plate with dish soap, reset the Z offset, print around 200–220 °C, and start from a known PLA rather than a bargain spool.
- [What is PLA+ and is it better than PLA?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/pla_vs_plaplus): PLA+ is a marketing label, not a standard material. It is often a bit tougher than that brand’s plain PLA, and the brand matters more than the plus sign.
- [What filament should I use outdoors?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/outdoors): For a part that stays outdoors, use ASA. Prusa describes ASA as the outdoor technical material because of UV and temperature resistance, and PETG is the fallback when the printer is not enclosed.
- [What is the best filament for outdoor use?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/outdoor): Use ASA for a part that stays outdoors in the sun. PETG is the cheaper community fallback, ABS is the third option, and plain PLA softens and degrades outside. Dark colors get much hotter in the sun.
- [What filament should I use for a car interior?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/car-interior): For a part that sits in a car, use ASA, not PLA. Prusa rates ASA for temperature resistance up to 93 °C and for outdoor UV, which is the combination a closed cabin in the sun actually is.
- [What filament should I use for heat?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/heat): For heat, skip PLA. Prusa says PLA softens above about 60 °C and gives ASA temperature resistance up to 93 °C; carbon-fiber nylon is the step up when the printer can reach its listed nozzle range and a hardened nozzle is appropriate.
- [What filament should I use for a strong part?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/strength): For a strong functional part, use carbon-fiber nylon if the printer can reach the listed nozzle temperature and the nozzle can take an abrasive filament; otherwise use PETG or an impact-modified PLA, and do not pick ordinary PLA for a part that will be hit or heated.
- [What filament should I use when the part has to bend?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/flexible): Use TPU when the part has to bend. Prusa’s material guide lists Flex as the bendable material, and the spools below are TPU records that include a nozzle temperature.
- [What is the best flexible filament, and how do I print TPU?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/flex): Print TPU 95A. On a direct drive, the community pace is 20–40 mm/s with little retraction and a dry spool. Softer than 90A struggles on a Bowden extruder.
- [What filament should I use for miniatures?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/miniatures): Print miniatures in PLA. Prusa names PLA for detailed models and figures, and the r/PrintedMinis threads about small models are about PLA and PLA+, not ABS or ASA.
- [What filament should I use for cosplay armor?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/cosplay): Print cosplay armor in PETG if it will be worn or travel in a car, use PLA for a shell that stays cool and will be sanded, and use TPU only for straps and joints.
- [What filament should I use for food contact?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/food-contact): Do not pick a filament for food contact from the material name alone. Prusa says a PETG or PLA print still has layer grooves that hold bacteria, pigments that may not be reviewed, and a brass nozzle that is not food-safe, and this catalog lists no food-contact certification on the spools below.
- [What filament should I use on a printer with no enclosure?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/open-printer): On a printer with no enclosure, use PLA or PETG. Prusa says ASA and ABS need a hotter ambient temperature or an enclosure because they warp, and a blank enclosure field on a printer page is not evidence that the machine is enclosed.
- [Do I need to dry filament, and how?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/drying): Dry PETG, TPU, nylon, and PC. PLA tolerates room air and still prints better after drying. Community temperatures are PLA 45–55 °C, PETG 60–65 °C, TPU 50–55 °C, and nylon 70–80 °C, for 4–8 hours or longer, then store the spool with desiccant.
- [Are carbon fiber filaments worth it, and do I need a hardened nozzle?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/cf): Carbon-fiber and glass-fiber filaments are stiffer and usually matte, and they are not automatically stronger. They are abrasive, so print them with a hardened steel nozzle. Brass wears quickly.
- [What filament is waterproof?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/waterproof): Watertightness is mostly walls, flow, and temperature, not a magic polymer. PETG is the usual community pick, ASA is the other rigid option, and a critical part still needs an epoxy coat.
- [Which filaments work in the Bambu AMS?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/ams): The AMS handles most rigid filaments. Keep ordinary TPU out, skip very brittle carbon-fiber grades, and do not run a bare cardboard spool. Use an adapter, respool, or a product sold for the AMS.
- [How do I print nylon, and is it worth it?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/nylon): Nylon is worth it when the part has to be tough and wear-resistant, and it is a poor choice if you will not keep it dry. Dry it, print from a dry box, prefer an enclosure, and expect about 250–280 °C. PA-CF is the easier community path.
- [How fast can I print PLA and PETG?](https://filamentfacts.com/answers/speed): High-speed PLA, on a hotend that can melt it, is what the community uses past 300 mm/s. Volumetric flow is the real limit. Overture High Speed PLA lists a print speed up to 300 mm/s. The other ranked spools still do not list a print speed, and none of them list volumetric flow.