Paint or waterproof sealer?

[EverEvolvingExotics]

I am building a rack. Before i have use melamine but its expensive and heavy. I'd rather use half inch plywood and seal it up. The guy at the hardware store told me primer and paint is much more water proof than any water proof stain. Is this safe for my snakes and do you agree?

[dr del]

Hi,

I'd use a good quality varnish and make sure it has completely cured before applying the second coat then again waiting until there was no smell or anything.

But then again I just used melamine because that sounded like too much trouble.

But I wouldn't use paint.


dr del

[EverEvolvingExotics]

Thanks for the reply. Why would you use varnish over paint?

[dr del]

Hi,

I would expect a good tough varnish to be far more resilliant against moisture, cleaning solutions and wear and tear really.

Have a search around the old threads for the methods people have used in the past to see if there is any overall winner.


dr del

[WakoNako]

No matter what you use I'd still seal it just to be sure

[MustBeSatan]

Use a water based polyurethane. It's non toxic and it basically makes a plastic layer over whatever you put it on. Seal the joints in your wood with silicone. Many people use this method for wood aquariums with no ill effects.

[BGdyl]

Use a water based polyurethane. It's non toxic and it basically makes a plastic layer over whatever you put it on. Seal the joints in your wood with silicone. Many people use this method for wood aquariums with no ill effects.

water based polyurethane works great

[EverEvolvingExotics]

Thanks for the replies. Its helps a lot.

[Angry J]

I've been looking at rack materials lately and this is a great idea. Thanks for posting the question, and thanks for the replies.

[EverEvolvingExotics]

Yeah melamine is too heavy and not worth the price when you can just buy a half inch of plywood for under 15 bucks. I have some left over paint and primer which i will put on before i seal it. It might be overkill but i will just waste the paint if it sits around.