>>Why try to build a better mousetrap when the old one works fine?



LOL, probably because some of us, myself included, have been too aggressive with oil-based poly and put on a too thick first coat. That spells disaster with oil based poly and biases our opinions of it.



>>For an initial sealer coat on pine I would recommend a 50/50 mix with thinner to penetrate deeper into the grain.



Now that's a good idea. One thing I tried once was two coats of water based poly followed by two coats of oil based poly. I was trying to accomplish the same thing but also save money and reduce offgassing and working time.



>>IMHO Spar urethane is unnecessary... possible long term off gassing even when fully cured may not be good for your herps.



Thanks for the input on that. That's exactly why I've always avoided it in applications for my herps or my fiances orchids. The semi-flexible solids in Spar have always worried me.



>>If you're really that concerned with wearability then get gym floor finish poly but even that is overkill.



How is it overkill when it costs the same, at least when purchased by the gallon. Maybe I'm wrong. Is it harder to work with or something?



>>The two oldest enclosures I've made are a Burm enclosure that's 8 years old and a Monkey Tailed Skink one that's 6 years old.



So these were sealed with just "regular" oil-based poly?



Thanks BigT, always felt you were the man when it came to finishing wood.
-----
Current snakes:



0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)



3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)



2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)



3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

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