Mod Podge

I've made several styro-foam grout covered hides and have always struggled with the final step of sealing the grout. The last couple hides I sealed with Mod Podge. The question I have is this, Mod Podge is basically glue. What ever surface you throw Mod Podge on, its a topical application. Regardless of whether you cut it with water to let it thoroughly penetrate the grout or brush it on thick at full strength....its COATING applied to the surface of grout. Beardies lick anything and everything they come in contact with....so with the heat these vivs get to, 90-105, is this really a good sealer to use? What are the alternatives that others have used when sealing grout in these homemade hides. I'm not really a fan of this stuff, in that it...its glue. Can grout be safely sealed in other ways where it is susceptible to high temps, frequent contact with water for cleaning, and safe for beardies? Thank you for any info or advice offered.

Mod Podge is a non-toxic sealer and glue. If your dragon licked it, it wouldn't be harmful. That's why I like Mod Podge. It's more of a sealer than a glue. It's just that the sealer can hold things together if you wanted it to. Yes, it's coating, but any sealant is a coating on the outside of your DIY rock. I personally love Mod Podge. I'm making DIY hides now and I plan to seal it with it. I actually have linoleum tiles in my tank, but when I got them they were too slippery. So to make them more "grippy" for my dragons, I made a mixture of this paint grit additive and Mod Podge. I sealed the tiles in it and it dried completely and I've never had a problem with heat or melting, and the tiles do get really hot. Just putting that out there to say that Mod Podge isn't that bad haha.

But enough with that, there are other substitutions for sealing. I've never used anything else to seal my dragon's viv items, so I can't really recommend a particular sealant. But I have heard of other people on the site using other sealants. They usually buy the nontoxic, waterproof sealants. But the thing is, you have to be careful about the fumes. That's a perk of Mod Podge, it doesn't have any harsh fumes that could harm your beardie.

Thanks for the reply PumpkinJelly. My latest and no so greatest DIY hide is a redo from a prior dragon, R.I.P Spike. This time I topped off the hide(basking platform) with slate tiles covered with grout, then Mod Podge. I sort of regret sealing with Mod Podge because it sort of took the realist look away from the hide when done. So thats why I've been asking for different sealers and ideas as to whatelse, in particular, is out there.

I plan on "grouting" my tile in with a low-silicon Lexel type sealant, which you can also get in clear. It's an adhesive, and already non-porous, and waterproof etc. Shouldn't give off fumes as much as higher silicon products and should be safe after sitting a day or two to air out. Need a caulking gun to apply.

Why did you seal the slate with grout? I sealed with a water-based rock sealant, and water just beads up on it now. Should be a breeze to clean, and appearance not altered at all.

RockHound, I sort of regret sealing with Mod Podge but it is what it is now. The covering of the slate tile with grout was to make the hide/basking platform appear as a natural cave. My painting skills should've been better but I ran out of some of the darker paints needed to get where I wanted to go. The bottom of viv is covered with this slate tile, so the hide needed to be somewhat the same color...didn't really happen. The hide's top is covered with slate tile to maintain the heat from the overhead basking light. I then covered the tile with grout to smooth out the overall appearence, trying for a natural rock appearence, as much as possible.....I'l post pictures later this eve. Thanks for the info............



These aren't the best shots....but they are what they are. Floor of the viv are the slate tiles grout and the hide/basking platform are the tiles covered with grout, paint and Mod Podge, alittle greener than I wanted...Here's a pic of what the hide/platform used to look like without the top layered in tile.

Sounds cool either way - would definitely like to see pics! It is fun to strive for a naturalistic look to your enclosures. I'm working on my gecko tank - dragon comes next.

Slate is a great choice for that, too. I mean, it's also what the resident rockhound/geologist picked. xD
Rocks are much more porous than you'd think. Took three layers of sealant to fully saturate my slate tiles.

RockHound; Thanks for the info. Could you tell me the Brand of sealant you used to seal your tile? I believe I'm going redo the grouting and sealing of Pedro's hide/basking platform, and Mod Podge probably won't be used. Thanks for any help offered.

What I got is just called Stone Sealer, by Dupont. I got it at Lowes. Won't need a big thing of it. Works great on granites, travertines, slates, etc.

You just brush a layer of the liquid on, wait 15 minutes, do it again, wait 15 minutes. Rinse and repeat until the rock/tile is no longer getting saturated and the liquid is beading at the surface instead. Then let it sit about 2 hours. Then you're good to go! Can run water on it and it just beads at the surface and rolls right off. Too cool. xD I love this hands-on crafting stuff!

It's also water-based and made for outdoor use, so should resist the temperature changes quite well. Apparently the sealant should hold up for at least two years of outdoor conditions, so even more for our vivs.

I just bought something called afm safecoat grout sealant, non toxic and water resistant. I haven't tried it yet because I had to order it... $15 a quart off of amazon. I'll let everyone know how it works next week when I get it.

BoutanicalStig, thanks for the info. I am going to rework this particular hide, mainly due to the Mod Podge and finished color. Hopefully I'l get it right this time but the sealer will not be Mod Podge. I'm going for the acrylic grout/tile sealer, however I really want to make sure that with all the heat and washing of this hides top, for cleaning, that some sort of funky odor is not going to travel about our dragon's little paradise

Hello I am new to the site and have been doing alot of reading and just made my 1st DIY hide. The question I have is with Mod Podge I looked all over and could not find the hard coat so I bought Mod Podge Matte its a yellow label and says water based sealer , glue, and finish nontoxic is this the correct stuff I am to the sealing part and want to make sure before I apply. Thanks so much

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