Is Painting / Staining recommended or necessary?

[avogodro]

I have read several posts elsewhere regarding the need to paint or stain the frame to prevent warping of the frame. Is this a real issue or is this just preventative overkill? Just curious I have had a 10" makerfarm in the box for about 5 months now waiting to find some good weather to paint the frame. The weather and my time off havent gotten on the same page yet. Now it is cold and I dont have a good place to paint the frame that would be indoors. So I am wondering if painting the frame would even matter. I am eager to start putting this thing together but want to do it right the first time. The machine would spend its time indoors in the luxury of an HVAC so I dont think that humidity fluctuations would be a real issue.

If I do decide to paint it would a simple few coats of clear rattle can rustoleum work or does it have to be a stain/sealer?

Thanks for any help.
eager to get started
Nick

[usarmyaircav]

I have a 10" that I did NOT paint/stain. I haven't noticed any warping. Also Colin at Maker farm says that paint/stain removes the warranty on the frame.

[dustmann]

I stained my 12" for the sole purpose of aesthetics.. And it spends its time in my unheated garage. I haven't noticed any warping, but I can tell you that after staining the parts fit together VERY snugly, and required sanding in many cases just to fit together. I wouldn't worry about application if yours is going to stay indoors and you don't care so much about appearance (mine was stained primarily to appease the wife

[avogodro]

Thank you for the quick responses. I have opted to not paint it as I dont want to void the warranty and I dont have that much time to do it. I would have liked to for the asthetically pleasing aspect. But I dont mind the unfinished wood look.

[clough42]

I lacquered all three of mine because I didn't like the burned smell from the laser cut edges. I have struggled with the bed height changing during the first 45 minutes of the warmup on the oldest printer (an i3) but I haven't had any issues with the i3v models, either the 8" or the 12".

Colin has stated to me that painting the bed mount can cause warping. I don't have an unpainted part to verify if this is true.