safe coating for selfmade terrarium items?

[copper]

is there a good safe varnish / other coating material you can use on selfmade terrarium items (hides wtc) that tolerates antibacterial soaps and disinfectants?
thanks in advance!

[Katrina]

Varathane water based interior finish is fine if you allow it sufficient time to dry.

[donkeybuff]

I used drylok for mine, most tegu owners use it.

[Vegasarah]

The stuff they use to seal boats works really well.

[Katrina]

The stuff they use to seal boats works really well.

Gel coat? Fiberglass? What do you mean? I'd be very hesitant to seal an enclosure with any gel coat or fiberglass, the chemicals in there are pretty nasty - not something I'd want to expose my skinks to. The varathane I mentioned isn't harmful once dried, it's made for indoors unlike boat products.

[Vegasarah]

3M makes a fiberglass resin. It's a two part resin, and you mix it like epoxy, paint it on, and it cures fast. When it's totally dried and cured it is just like a plastic coating over the wood. It's not going to react to getting wet or hot or anything like that. Some of the other sealants chemicals will re-activate if wet or if they reach a high temperature. It is also not harmful once dried.

Not saying that any of the above mentioned aren't good, I've just never tried them before. I'm giving OP another option to look into if they wish.

[Katrina]

Here is a thread from another forum on sealants and what to look for: http://www.edmontonreptiles.com/forum/s ... Enclosures

Because products can offgas for many months, they recommend finding a sealant that once dry is indoor safe / food safe / child safe.

Here is the MSDS for 3M fiberglass resin: http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebse ... D7SSSSSS--

You can get low VOC / environmentally friendly fiberglass resin, but the ones for boats or automotive uses are generally really nasty chemicals (as detailed in the MSDS for the 3M resin). I'm sure if you have an enclosure that was sealed with this years ago it will be alright, but if you are looking to seal something brand new I'd choose a much safer option than fiberglass resin. It's not meant for indoor use or as a wood sealant and it's a really nasty chemical - you shouldn't be using it without a respirator.

[Vegasarah]

Well I use it outside, and I do wait double the full suggested time for curing and drying. I did my stack all at once, and it sat out in my garage for about 2 months before I even had the glass cut and ready to install. If you don't have that kind of time I would choose something else. I find this resin helpful if used safely and properly, and it makes things water tight for higher humidity animals. I guess BTS don't really need that, so again, something else might be better. Thanks for the VOC info, though.