What's the easiest/safest way to seal dimensional lumber?

[Axil]

So I bought Beebz her forever home yesterday. A nice big 120g from Dubai.com.

Now I need to furnish it. Really big decor seems to be pretty expensive, and I have a bunch of 2x4s and plywood laying around from other projects.

Obviously pine is no good and I have no idea what it's been treated with so I need a way to seal all that bad stuff safely away from her. I'm pretty good at building things, but I'm terrible at painting things.

Most of the tutorials looks like they are using lots of coats of different products. Is there nothing simple that can be sprayed on in just a couple coats?

Also can i just rough up the wood real good to give her texture or is whatever I'm sealing with going to smooth it right back out and force me to find a way to apply texture to the sealant?

 

[Nikki.D]

So I bought Beebz her forever home yesterday. A nice big 120g from Dubai.com.

Now I need to furnish it. Really big decor seems to be pretty expensive, and I have a bunch of 2x4s and plywood laying around from other projects.

Obviously pine is no good and I have no idea what it's been treated with so I need a way to seal all that bad stuff safely away from her. I'm pretty good at building things, but I'm terrible at painting things.

Most of the tutorials looks like they are using lots of coats of different products. Is there nothing simple that can be sprayed on in just a couple coats?

Also can i just rough up the wood real good to give her texture or is whatever I'm sealing with going to smooth it right back out and force me to find a way to apply texture to the sealant?

The wood that you are going to put in your beardie’s enclosure make sure it is smooth so it can’t get any splinters from it, maybe you should just get some pieces of wood from a pet shop or you could find a good piece of wood maybe gumtree wood would be lying around parks. If there is gumtree wood you find you can keep it in hot water for 24 hours or more and let it dry then use it.

 

[Claudiusx]

I'd keep the wood smoother, it's going to be exponentially harder to seal if it's roughed up.

Are these dimensional lumber pieces going to be used as décor in the enclosure?

-Brandon

 

[Axil]

I'd keep the wood smoother, it's going to be exponentially harder to seal if it's roughed up.

Are these dimensional lumber pieces going to be used as décor in the enclosure?

-Brandon

That was the plan. At this point I'm probably going to grab a couple pavers to build up to a basking platform as I'd like to get Beebz in her new enclosure by Tuesday assuming the room we just painted is done off gassing.

I may still try in the future though. My understanding is acrylic paint works, but will potentially take weeks to fully cure. especially considering its still pretty cold in my garage

I can definitely sand it all very smooth. I was just concerned then she wouldn't have enough grip to climb around on it.

All the foam stuff I see here looks really nice, but also outside my skill set.

 

[xp29]

I tried the foam projects...... my guys all have driftwood, mopani wood and/or sandstone lmao. In other words i have ZERO artistic ability lol.
Depending on where you live, if there are lakes or streams near you, as far as i know any hardwood is safe, so hardwood driftwood that is baked at 200ish degrees for a half hour or so would be safe. Personally the girlfriend and i both love natural stuff, our whole house is done in natural wood, crystals, minerals, fossils, and native American stuff we have collected so driftwood suits or taste, and its free lol. Heck you might even say we got paid to collect it, we got the exercise and experience of being outdoors!!!

 

[Axil]

I tried the foam projects...... my guys all have driftwood, mopani wood and/or sandstone lmao. In other words i have ZERO artistic ability lol.
Depending on where you live, if there are lakes or streams near you, as far as i know any hardwood is safe, so hardwood driftwood that is baked at 200ish degrees for a half hour or so would be safe. Personally the girlfriend and i both love natural stuff, our whole house is done in natural wood, crystals, minerals, fossils, and native American stuff we have collected so driftwood suits or taste, and its free lol. Heck you might even say we got paid to collect it, we got the exercise and experience of being outdoors!!!

Yeah we have a stream behind the house which probably has plenty of oak and maple driftwood in it. I probably even have a few nice pieces from my old aquarium setup

The reason I was hoping to use dimensional lumber was because I could easily make it stable and conform to the exact measurements I wanted.

We have tons of rocks too (we basically live on a mountain) but unless I find something perfectly flat I convince myself it might somehow shift and hurt her. That's why I was leaning towards pavers.

I'm probably being way too cautious with everything. After losing our first one so suddenly I have a bad tendency of thinking of Beebz as a bubble that will pop if the wind blows to strongly near her.

 

[xp29]

I definitely understand that.
I shake, push,bounce, whack and anything else i can think of to make sure my setup is stable.
I once had a log hide, it was propped so one side was leaned up the wall, my little girl loved it that way. She was so small she fit on the 2nd section of my index finger, she might have weighted 4 grams. I was headed to bed but heard a noise, i went back and it had turned over and had her pinned in her water bowl. Luckily her head was above water but it scared the chit out of me. I've been paranoid ever since.