{
  "question": "How do I stop oozing between moves?",
  "slug": "ooze",
  "useCase": "troubleshooting",
  "useCaseLabel": "Troubleshooting",
  "updated": "2026-10-15",
  "shortAnswer": "Shorten retraction to about 0.5–1 mm on a direct drive and 4–6 mm on a Bowden, lower the nozzle temperature inside the spool’s listed range, dry the filament, and turn on wipe or coasting. Bambu’s PLA Basic sheet lists retraction at 0.6–1.0 mm, inside the direct-drive band.",
  "recommendedMaterials": [
    "pla",
    "petg"
  ],
  "printerConsiderations": [
    "The P1S and P1P records describe a direct-drive extruder. Use the 0.5–1 mm band there, which matches the 0.6–1.0 mm retraction on the PLA Basic sheet. The X1 Carbon record does not say direct drive, so do not copy that band onto it from this page.",
    "Bowden printers are the 4–6 mm case in this consensus. A Bowden length pasted into a direct drive is the long retraction the clog page warns about.",
    "Wipe and coasting are slicer features named by the consensus. They are not fields in the filament table."
  ],
  "pros": [
    "The retraction bands are split by extruder type, which is the part people copy wrong.",
    "Temperature advice stays inside each row’s nozzle range instead of a single ooze temperature."
  ],
  "cons": [
    "Retraction length is not stored on PolyLite or Prusament rows. Only the Bambu PLA Basic sheet, read for this page, lists 0.6–1.0 mm.",
    "Coasting can leave a gap at the end of a line. The consensus names it. It does not give a coast distance."
  ],
  "community": "The consensus is to tune retraction, about 0.5–1 mm on direct drive and 4–6 mm on Bowden, lower the temperature, dry the filament, and enable wipe or coasting.",
  "related": [
    "drying",
    "stringing",
    "blobs",
    "flow",
    "clog"
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Should I drop below the filament’s minimum nozzle temperature to stop ooze?",
      "a": "No. Lower means toward the bottom of the stored range. Under the minimum is the cold nozzle the clog guide treats as a cause, not a fix."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is 0.6–1.0 mm the retraction for PETG too?",
      "a": "That number is on the Bambu PLA Basic sheet. The community band for direct drive is 0.5–1 mm for this question, without a separate PETG figure. PolyLite PETG does not store a retraction length. Start inside the direct-drive band on a direct drive, and do not invent a PETG-only distance."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Bambu PLA Basic technical data sheet V3.0",
      "url": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0584/7236/6216/files/Bambu_PLA_Basic_Technical_Data_Sheet_bf3411ce-be39-4db7-9669-1b4671d2196b.pdf?v=1734060943",
      "kind": "datasheet"
    },
    {
      "title": "PolyLite PLA technical data sheet",
      "url": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0548/7299/7945/files/PolyLite_PLA_TDS_EN_V5.4.pdf",
      "kind": "datasheet"
    },
    {
      "title": "PolyLite PETG technical data sheet",
      "url": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0548/7299/7945/files/PolyLite_PETG_TDS_EN_V5.4.pdf",
      "kind": "datasheet"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/3Dprinting 105sfr7",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/105sfr7/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/FixMyPrint 1dz9tey",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FixMyPrint/comments/1dz9tey/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/BambuLab 178627o",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/comments/178627o/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/FixMyPrint un6als",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FixMyPrint/comments/un6als/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/FixMyPrint vslh1y",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FixMyPrint/comments/vslh1y/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    }
  ],
  "recommendations": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "note": "PLA Basic. The sheet lists a nozzle of 190–230 °C (374–446 °F), a bed of 35–45 °C (95–113 °F), and retraction of 0.6–1.0 mm at 20–40 mm/s. Lowering temperature means moving down inside 190–230 °C (374–446 °F), not under 190 °C (374 °F).",
      "brand": "Bambu Lab",
      "product": "PLA Basic",
      "material": "PLA",
      "url": "/brand/bambu-lab/pla-basic",
      "nozzle": "190–230 °C (374–446 °F)",
      "bed": "35–45 °C (95–113 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0584/7236/6216/files/Bambu_PLA_Basic_Technical_Data_Sheet_bf3411ce-be39-4db7-9669-1b4671d2196b.pdf?v=1734060943",
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "note": "PolyLite PLA. The catalog stores a nozzle of 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) and a bed of 25–60 °C (77–140 °F), and drying at 55 °C (131 °F) for 6 h on the US product page. Retraction length is not a field on the row.",
      "brand": "Polymaker",
      "product": "Polylite PLA",
      "material": "PLA",
      "url": "/brand/polymaker/polylite-pla",
      "nozzle": "190–230 °C (374–446 °F)",
      "bed": "25–60 °C (77–140 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0548/7299/7945/files/PolyLite_PLA_TDS_EN_V5.4.pdf",
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "note": "Prusament PLA. The catalog stores a narrower nozzle, 205–225 °C (401–437 °F), and a bed of 40–60 °C (104–140 °F). A lower temperature still has to stay inside that range.",
      "brand": "Prusament",
      "product": "PLA",
      "material": "PLA",
      "url": "/brand/prusament/pla",
      "nozzle": "205–225 °C (401–437 °F)",
      "bed": "40–60 °C (104–140 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": null,
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "note": "PolyLite PETG with a datasheet. The catalog stores a nozzle of 220–250 °C (428–482 °F) and a bed of 70–90 °C (158–194 °F). The same retraction bands apply. This row does not store a retraction length.",
      "brand": "Polymaker",
      "product": "Polylite PETG",
      "material": "PETG",
      "url": "/brand/polymaker/polylite-petg",
      "nozzle": "220–250 °C (428–482 °F)",
      "bed": "70–90 °C (158–194 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0548/7299/7945/files/PolyLite_PETG_TDS_EN_V5.4.pdf",
      "affiliateUrl": null
    }
  ]
}