Polyurethane, Drylock, or Kilz?????

[robnpg]

Ok, Building that indoor 8x4x3 cage in anticipation of Bobby's next B&W hatching. I put together the frame today using 2 X4's and have my plywood. I've combed through endless forums and seen so many opinions on DryLock Vs Kilz, but havent seen much on polyurethane.
I have a can of poly in my garage and wondering can I use it to waterproof, or would I be better off with the Drylock or Kilz?
Of course (as people mention in posts), The Home Depots and Menards folks say I should NOT use DryLock because it's for masonory and I should use something like Thomson's water seal. Sorry guys for an OLD frequently discussed topic, but just want to be like Spike Lee and Do The Right Thing (Its 12:30 AM, bad humor!)

 

[preston897]

when i built my cages i used a killz drylock mixture on one of them because the drylock was to thick. but i would recomend bear masonry sealer. it works great and looks great. you can also get it in colors. home depot sells it. it also holds up to higher pressures then drylock. its much stronger.

 

[Pikey]

i've used both poly & drylock. Drylock is A+ & the poly i use over stain (i think it looks the best, i love the look of wood), but i also tile the floor and 6-8 inches up the sides, i've heard that poly only lasts about a year in high moisture, but with the tiled floor all the wet stuff sit on the tile not the wood so i've had no problems

 

[robnpg]

Wow, Drylok seems to be the choice. It's just everytime I go in the hardware store and tell them what I'm doing, they give me a crazy look and say "No way do you use that! Its for concrete!"

 

[preston897]

dont listen to them. they dont know that much haha. it works great to seal wood. if it can seal concrete it sure as hell can seal wood. use drylock...or like i said check out the bear masonry seal.

 

[chelvis]

I used drylock and it works amazingingly well. I used it on a cage i made back in 07 the wood cracked on the outside and the doors have scensed worped, but the one things i got right on that cage was the interior paint. The drylock has held up amazingly well.

 

[robnpg]

Picked up drylock today. At Lowes they had it by quarts (in white only), so I just bought one quart. I figure that should be enough for 4 8x4 panels. If not, I can always pick up another quart. Thanks everyone, I don't know what this is going to turn out like, but I will start snapping pics as I go. I made 8 sets of 4x4 squares in my basement last night.
This weekend, Ill take the next step....

 

[the enigma]

Well, (assuming you have not painted as I am posting this), you can ask the guys at Lowes to put some pigment in the drylock if you don't want it white.

 

[Toby_H]

I've used Drylock on several animal related projects as well as several construction projects...

The storebought gray is too light for my taste, so I have them add 2 ounces of black pigment to make a nice "battleship gray".

The guy at Ace Hardware sent me home with additional black pigment and I used that to hand mix even darker shades of gray.

For my current large tank I brought home pigment to make a dark 'forest green' which I used to paint the sides and back, and also brought home brown pigment and painted the shelves and a few upright supports brown.

Drylock goes on thick so you will likely need a full gallon to put a couple of coats (suggested) on four 8x4 sheets.

I have leanred to put on a very thin coat first, then apply 2 thicker coats after that. This application method has given me wonderful long term results on plywood.

 

[robnpg]

Full gallon eh? ok, I will take the quart back. It was white instead of grey anyway. So Toby, I just tell them to add black pigment? When I go in (went to 3 so far : Lowes, Menards and Ace) they are so friggin hard pressed against the idea. I wanna so just do it!!!!!

 

[the enigma]

Tell them that they should mind their own buisness and that you are a "crazy lizard lover". I speak from experience when I went to lowes the same thing happened to me

 

[Guest]

I used a product called POLYGEM. It's a 2 part epoxy that is 100% safe for reptiles and is 100% waterproof. This is what the zooz use. In my opinion its the best you can get. It looks great and is not too hard to use is you are familiar with using epoxy.

Product Description Color Mixing Ratio Packaging
#1319 Clear Epoxy #1319 Clear Epoxy Coating provides a high-gloss and very durable finish that is UV stable and chemical resistant. #1319 is ideal for coating animal enclosures or for use underwater in marine environments. #1319 can be pigmented and is suitable for use as a clear casting resin. Clear 1:1

If you have any questions send me a message. Good luck let me know how it turns out

 

[eddyjack]

Ha this is great! thanks for all the great information.

 

[Toby_H]

Don't be rude to the hardware store employee, you need something from them

The manufacturer;s warrantee is voided if you add pigment, thus they will be hesitant to add pigment. Also the resultant color in Drylok will be different than if the same pigments were added to paint, which is another reason for them to be hesitant.

Assure them you are using the product on wood, which is not covered under the manufacturer's warrantee anyway. Assure them that you are not holding them accountable for the resultant color and you are not trying to get an exact color, just a ball park blend.

The smaller "neighborhood" hardware stores are much more likely to help you out than the larger corporate chains. I've found both an Ace and an Aco that were willing to help me out, but it took getting turned down a few times before I found the one willing to help me out. Naturally when you find the one that is helpful thank them with further business.