Chris gave you great info.



I've tried waterborne stain. The paint store mixed it for me - it was a nice blue-ish color. It did splotch somewhat on regular old Home Depot pine plywood, but still looked pretty good.



Waterborne poly does not hold up well to repeated cleanings the type you will likely be doing in a reptile cage. That is on the cage floor and seams. It is fine for the cage sides and ceiling.



A great way to get better protection but still use waterborne poly in the rest of the cage is to cover the floor with plastic. You can use inexpensive tileboard and just expect to replace it now and again. Or you can use FRP or PVC foam sheet. The PVC can be purchased online or through a sign shop depending on how much you need. I like the PVC because you can use the 0.1" thick material and simply cut it to fit (score it many times then snap it) with a utility knife and a straight edge.



You'll have to seal the edges. Silicon is great for this. If you have to replace the floor cover at some point, scraping the silicon off is doable. A razor blade works well enough. You'll be putting fresh silicon on top of the old residue.



The cage floor and seams are the parts that take 99% of the abuse. If you go with the idea that you can replace the floor (floor cover) from time to time, what you use as the finish for the rest of the cage becomes less important. I like plain old paint myself for the interior.
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Mark

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