[JoshH]

Hello,

I'm in the middle of a rather large plywood viv build and I have a question for experienced builders on here. The inside of the viv is sealed with multiple coats of epoxy. Now I am in the process of deciding whether to paint the outside black, or stain it since the whole thing is made of furniture grade wood.

My dilemma is what to stain and seal it with on the outside. I was thinking about the Minwax Polyshades that I usually use on wood projects, but I am unsure if there is anyway of an oil based stain/sealer penetrating through the wood and causing issues with the adhesion of epoxy on the inside. Would I be better with a water based wood stain? I don't want to present any toxic chemical issues later down the road, or most importantly cause the epoxy to fail inside.

So I'm looking to hear from the people that have built large plywood aquariums and vivs, and would love to hear what products you have used successfully. Thanks!

 

[chin_monster]

I'd check out the DIY forum on the monsterfishkeepers forum to research the question, but offhand it wouldn't expect there to be any issue

DIY Projects and Ideas

 

[parkanz2]

When I build my large plywood viv for my boa several years back, I used epoxy on the inside and a high gloss paint on the outside just to make it easy to clean.

With what I know of epoxy, I wouldn't expect there to be any reactivity between the oil stain and the epoxy as long as the epoxy was thoroughly cured before application of the stain. The only way I could see adhesion issues developing is if the actual microstructure of the wood started to deteriorate as I believe epoxy is mostly a mechanical adherence to wood (could be wrong on that,) and I don't see oil based stains compromising that. Now, if there was a leak or something that started to cause the wood to rot, that's a different issue.

Hopefully that helps,
Max

 

[EvilLost]

I use BEHR All-Purpose Weatherproofer DECK Stain (rated for blizzards and snowstorms). I have been using it for a little over a year now on multiple builds (outsides only) and I am quite satisfied on the look combined with high grade plywood.


Not the best pics but here are some to show what it looks like (i know the pics don't show the wood the best, but I think you can get a good idea of the result):
https://plus.google.com/photos/1101...ms/5647654053080166753?authkey=CKfwp9eWlPK9Jw

https://plus.google.com/photos/1101...s/5647652851478928897?authkey=CJ-1sdnW0KCejAE

 

[skanderson]

another option might be to use a translucent tint in epoxy for your outer coat.

 

[JoshH]

Thanks all! I checked with many of the large aquarium builds and the consensus is that the epoxy and regular stains/varnishes should be kept seperate. So, I think I'm going to try several test pieces using Minwax water based stain, then coat with the epoxy. The epoxy shouldn't have any problem sticking since the water based won't have any oily residue, but we'll see how they look. I'm hoping since the epoxy is water clear that it will just act like polyurethane over the stain.

Thanks!

 

[parkanz2]

Thanks all! I checked with many of the large aquarium builds and the consensus is that the epoxy and regular stains/varnishes should be kept seperate. So, I think I'm going to try several test pieces using Minwax water based stain, then coat with the epoxy. The epoxy shouldn't have any problem sticking since the water based won't have any oily residue, but we'll see how they look. I'm hoping since the epoxy is water clear that it will just act like polyurethane over the stain.

Thanks!

Oh... I didn't realize you were planning on epoxying over the stain. Yep, I agree with water based in that case.