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I'm going to be making a rack for my crested geckos soon to clear up some space so I can upgrade tank sizes for some of my other guys [my corn has lamost outgrown his 40gallon].
I'm going to be using sterilite tubs [I haven't decided if I want to use 66qt or go bigger] and melamine for the shelving but I need a way to seal it. I don't like the thought of using oil/water based sealants, so would shellac be a good option?
Any other suggestions?
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1.0.0 Pantherophis guttatus
1.0.0 Eryx colubrinus
2.4.1 Rhacodactylus ciliatus
1.0.0 Rhacodactylus chahoua
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus auriculatus
1.1.0 Eublepharis macularius

>>Any other suggestions?

Melamine is a plastic resin coatng over medium density fiberboard, typically the surfce doens't need to be sealed. However, it is recmmended that it not be the primary barrier to the interior of a high humidity enviroment. Nor should the edges be left exposed.

Typically people use an additional barrier such as PVCX, vinyl flooring, FRP etc. for the floor and seal the seams with some sort of sealant or silicone caulking. Regardless if the user adds an additional barrier the edges need to be selaed and the seams caulked.

Cheers
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Jeremy Payne
Owner
JB Reptile
www.jbreptile.com **Coming Soon**

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

0.1 Motley Het Anery **In aquisition**
1.0 Snow "Khal" RTB
1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow RTB's
1.0 Ghost RTB **coming soon**
1.0 Hypomelenistic RTB
1.2 Pastel Hypo RTB's
0.1 Suriname RTB
0.1 Anerthrystic RTB
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.3 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse
1.0.1 Child

Well that helps a lot lol. The guy at Home Depot said melamine wasn't water proof and needed to be sealed. I wasn't planning on sealing any exposed edges/corners with silicone though, so I'm glad you said something.
Thanks for the help!
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1.0.0 Pantherophis guttatus
1.0.0 Eryx colubrinus
2.4.1 Rhacodactylus ciliatus
1.0.0 Rhacodactylus chahoua
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus auriculatus
1.1.0 Eublepharis macularius

The melamine resin used on particle board is not quite thick enough to make a fully water proof barrier. But it is quite moisture resistant and can be used in high humidity racks. I have even used melamine in racks I modified for a misting system. It was cheap melamine and it held up but I was probably pushing it about as far as it could go.

If you're buying your melamine from Home Depot (it's lower quality) I do recommend an additional barrier of some sort. Shellac is not a good choice, the main problem being is that it's not any more moisture resistant than the cheap melamine foil used on the Home Depot product. Additonally I'm guessing that the bond to melamine will be very poor. Very few sealers or adhesives stick to melamine. They even make a special glue for melamine.

If you want a brush or spray on product, by far your best choice is melamine paint, which I have seen for sale at Home Depot in the past.

Other choices include Jeremy's list. Another choice is Contact Paper or other self-adhesive shelf liner is an easy choice but the stuff is not quite the same as it used to be. Evidently consumers complained when they wanted to replace their shelf liner it was too difficult to pull off so the company not only made the adhesive weaker, they also made the film thinner since consumers were replacing it freqently. It should still work in a rack environment, however.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephala (Javan, mixed colors)

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

I actually plan on purchasing from Lowes [not that that makes a difference, lol] but was just pricing at Home Depot :]
When I go back to make a final list of everything I need, I'll look out for the melamine paint you're talking about.
Would it be easier to use regular wood and seal it with wood sealants?
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1.0.0 Pantherophis guttatus
1.0.0 Eryx colubrinus
2.4.1 Rhacodactylus ciliatus
1.0.0 Rhacodactylus chahoua
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus auriculatus
1.1.0 Eublepharis macularius

Would it be easier to use regular wood and seal it with wood sealants?

No. It will be more work and more expensive and the final product likely won't be as good. Melamine is flatter and more consistent in thickness than any other wood product (other than MDF) which really helps when building a rack. And the plastic coating allows the boxes to slide freely. It is a great product for the money if you can deal with the weight.

I even think some of the higher quality melamine will be durable enough for a high humidity rack. But a layer of Contact Paper or a coat of melamine paint means a lot when it comes to peace of mind so I would not discourage you from using it.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephala (Javan, mixed colors)

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

....drys fast smells great and cleans up with alcohol
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..Doug
~ø¿ô~ aka dougsnake