ZBrush Tip: Polish Boolean Intersections in ZBrush

Boolean intersections often leave faceted seams, micro‑slivers, and uneven planes. Here’s a fast, repeatable way to polish those results while preserving hard edges.

Pre-flight (before Make Boolean Mesh):

• Name and organize SubTools; assign Union/Subtract/Intersect correctly and preview with Live Boolean.
• For subtractive cutters, add a tiny bevel or fillet where appropriate. Perfectly razor‑sharp 90° seams tend to reveal artifacts after meshing.
• Consider polygrouping logical parts now; clean groups accelerate post-boolean polishing.
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Core polish workflow (after Make Boolean Mesh):

1. Select the newly created UMesh and run Tool > Geometry > Mesh Integrity > Check Mesh, then Fix if prompted.
2. Create clean grouping:
   • Tool > PolyGroups > Auto Groups (to separate shells).
   • Then Group By Normals with a threshold around 35–50 to define crisp breaks along hard angles.
3. Protect edges: Tool > Geometry > Crease > Crease PG (set Tolerance ~30–45). This preserves hard borders during smoothing.
4. Polish the intersections:
   • Deformation > Polish By Features: start low (3–8). Repeat once or twice as needed.
   • If planes need tighter crisping, try Deformation > Polish Crisp (1–3) sparingly.
5. Even out broad surfaces without rounding edges:
   • Tool > Geometry > ClayPolish with Groups ON, Sharpness 3–6, Edge Contrast 4–10, Repeat 1–2.

Topology refinement (when seams still look messy):

• ZRemesher pass:
  • Tool > Geometry > ZRemesher: Target 5–15K (per part), KeepGroups ON, DetectEdges ON, SmoothGroups 0–10, AdaptiveSize 10–25.
  • Optional: Use ZRemesher Guides to favor flow along long seams.
• Reproject detail if needed: Subdivide once or twice and use Project All with a small distance to recover bevels and micro features.

Dynamesh alternative (when there are micro slivers or non-manifold bits):

• Tool > Geometry > DynaMesh with Resolution just high enough to hold silhouettes; enable Groups and Polish.
• Polish by Features 2–6 after remesh, then ZRemesher for optimal polyflow if the result will be animated or exported.

Quality checks:

• Toggle PolyFrame and inspect continuity along intersections.
• Apply a high-contrast MatCap and run a quick BPR to reveal shading wobble.
• Run Mesh Integrity again before export.

Common pitfalls and fixes:

• Over-polishing rounds edges: reduce Polish values or re-apply Crease PG before another pass.
• Stair-stepping on planar faces: prefer ClayPolish low Repeat over heavy smooth.
• Jagged chamfers: ZRemesh with KeepGroups and a slightly higher target count, then Polish By Features lightly.

Quick recipe you can save as a macro:

1. Auto Groups → Group By Normals (40) → Crease PG (40).
2. Polish By Features (6) → ClayPolish (Groups ON, Sharpness 5, EdgeContrast 8, Repeat 1).
3. ZRemesher (KeepGroups, DetectEdges, Target 10K) → Project All.

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