Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i would like to stain my cage that i built both inside and out. i have some oil based stain. is that alright? just let it sit and cure for a week of so correct?

what type of sealant do you guys reccommend? how long do i have to wait until it cures? any info would be great.

Most stains need to cure 24 to 48 hours until they are dry and no longer off gas. Then it will need to be sealed with clear coat either lacquer or polyurethane. I am a cabinet and furniture builder and prefer lacquer because it dries faster. Either way I would suggest waiting at least a week if not two to use the cage.

so it doesnt matter what kind of polyurethane or lacquer i use? the cage is looking pretty good. i am using an ebony stain.

Well Poly is a bit more durable. Lacquer will show scratches more with some effort. If you are housing something with nails that will scratch you might want to go with poly. It just dries alot slower probably twice as long as lacquer. The other thing to use is marine epoxy. I just did a cage with some stuff called WEST systems (get it at marine stores where they sell bouating supplies. Dries overnight. extremely hard and durable and very, very, waterproof. It is a little messy but builds and levels out real well. The only problem is that it off gasses for quite a while and you will definately have to wait a couple weeks to let the vapors die down.
In short - if you are housing snakes and such and are impatient or need to occupy the cage soon go with the lacquer.
If you can wait a couple weeks and are worried about waterproofing and durability go with poly or epoxy.
T

For a clear coat I either use water-based poly, oil-based poly, or clear epoxy.

All have their tradeoffs. I weigh these tradeoffs depending up the species in the cage and whether or not it's a cage I mind being out of service once in a while to retouch the finish.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)