Protection

camaleonte82

New Member
what is a good sealant and or varnish i can use to finish and or seal things to make them safe for my cham? like finishing a homemade cage or shellacking something to put in their cage?
 
i keep saying polyurethane but i need to be more clear... i mean Polycrylic - water based coatings when i say that. A bad habit of mine.

Anyways look into a Polycrylic or water based poly coating. Polyurethane will stink for a long time as it releases fumes.
 
Everything that I've seen/read online says to be sure to use 100% acrylic sealers as other oil and water-based sealers can eventually break down and start leaching chemicals when constantly exposed to the water of our drip and misting systems. Here's what I picked up from Lowes to seal the inside of my DIY cage that's made of wood and I also am using it to seal the fake rock wall that I am making.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_239690-86-5...ntURL=/pl__0__s?Ntt=olympic+sealer&facetInfo=

I stained my wood with Rustoleum Dark Cherry Wood Stain and then put down three coats of their satin finish polyurethane coating before I installed the screen material and caulked the slightly frayed edges down to the wood. Once I had the cage assembled I switched to the stuff in the link to make sure that everything was thoroughly water-proofed. What I did is probably WAY overkill but this was my first cage build and I wanted to make sure that everything was done as best as I could.

Hope this helps and good luck on your project.
 
That's good to know, I had thought the water/acrylic based were safe. The water proofing you put on should of not done much if you had the polyurethane on thick enuff. They both are sealers and should protect the wood from allowing moisture/water into the wood. Polyurethanes just create that hard clear coating where as the sealer you applied soaks into the wood and acts like the stuff applied to pressure treat wood on desks etc... I knew to avoid the polyurethanes they will release fumes for several months even and can impact the pets health.
 
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