# "Paint" Protecting Wood From Water



## Tom

I went in to Home Depot today to get, among other things, some "Drylok". I was going to give it a try. They only had the masonry/concrete type. Is there one for wood?

Anyhow, the guy working the counter had no idea how to answer my questions, but was excited to tell me about the "tortoise races" he attended at his local bar back when he lived on the East Coast... It just so happened that the rep from the paint company was there, and he did have some answers for me. He said nothing sold in a hardware store is going to work for the application that I intended to use it for. He said there is no paint, or anything else (like garage floor epoxy) that will hold up to being wet all the time. He suggest I call a marine place and look into the paints thats are used on boats, that are designed to be under water all the time. I asked him about the fumes or toxicity of these paints, since they are designed to repel barnacles and other such invasive stuff, and he said that he did not know about that, but it seemed like a valid concern. So I am back to square one...

He suggested sealing the wood some other way, which brought me back to my original idea of FRP paneling and silicone sealant over plywood.

Ugh... I wish some manufacturer would just make appropriately sized, water friendly closed chamber-type enclosures...


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## jaizei

You could always look at the MSDS if you have a specific brand of Marine paint in mind. I did a quick search and found this:
http://www.ecologicalcoatings.com/marine.html


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## Zamric

Have you tried Rhino Liner?


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## zesty_17

um.... i saw this on the show "tanked." They used a wooden cross for a mega-church tank, covered it in epoxy? not sure what exactly. Maybe you could look up their contact info & shoot them an email?


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## jaizei

zesty_17 said:


> um.... i saw this on the show "tanked." They used a wooden cross for a mega-church tank, covered it in epoxy? not sure what exactly. Maybe you could look up their contact info & shoot them an email?



This just reminded me of something I came across not too long ago:
http://www.jonolavsakvarium.com/eng_diy/2200litre/2200litres.html

If it's safe for fish, it should be safe for a tortoise, right?


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## wellington

I have used Marine paint from Menards. I have a window in my shower. I painted the sill with it. It gets wet, water sitting on it, three times a day at least. Granted i squeegee it off when i am done with my shower, however, i can't say the same for my husband or son, even though i asked them too. Anyway, back on track. It has lasted with no problems for about 4 years now I don't know about it's toxicity, but it might be worth checking into. . I don't think it is what boats are painted with. I think it is more for docks, etc. Not sitting in water, but being able to be wet a lot.


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## dmmj

What about a pool supply type of store.


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## Zamric

I cant remember the Brand, but there is a paint used in basements that have water seepage. It basicly blocks water underpreasure from seeping thru Block Walls... (Big problems with basments in Tennessee and Kentucky)... Most inportantly, it is made to be in contact with water all the time without peeling or seperating. Toxicity????? It doesn't bother mamals to much.


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## EricIvins

Drylock is made for masonry, not for anything else.........It can be used for other things, but not as effective.......

Any type of bed liner would work, as well as any epoxy based paint........However, using products that are naturally water resistant is going to give you longevity.........

Any type PVC panel will be water proof and water tight, whether heat or chemically welded.........


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## ripper7777777

Drylok is designed for masonry, people use it for everything from wood aquariums to 3d aquarium backgrounds.

The manufacturer will not tell you it is good for underwater use, most products aren't good for underwater or ground contact, that doesn't mean they won't work it just means they aren't gonna warranty it.

You could use Marine Epoxy or GelCoat for boats.


What are you trying to build? 



Edit: Sorry forgot to mention, use latex Drylok if you go with Drylok, that is what I was told to use on the background I made for the turtle tank.


If you do a google for drylok aquariums you can find plenty of people using it for underwater apps.


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## Turtulas-Len

Here is a couple options, you could use laminated high density overlay plywood that is used for making reusable concrete forms,it's more expensive than regular plywood, but in some cases it's worth the extra money, the cut edges are the only parts that will need to be treated for water proofing.the edges could be coated with fiberglass resin to seal it. the other option is using linseed oil to treat the wood with before painting, or use a paint that the linseed oil can be mixed with to make sure it will seep deep into the grain, I like to use either the raw or boiled linseed oil for different things that are to be left outside year round, one drys quicker than the other, but both work the same for protecting wood from the elements and can be painted over.


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## GBtortoises

The paint company rep is right. No paint is designed to be constantly submerged in water (Except epoxy based finishes used in military and shipping industry). 
Any liquid based finish needs periodic maintenance or replacement. They're meant to be an expendable barrier between the elements and what they're covering. They take the abuse so that the underlying wood or metal doesn't decay from exposure to the elements.
While it's true that most finishes aren't designed to be constantly submerged, _several_ can withstand high levels of moisture very well with adequate exposure to air. Most urethane based finishes hold up well. I have personally used alkyd enamel gloss latex paint on my indoor tortoises enclosures for years with very little maintenance. They have held either cypress mulch or potting and top soil in them for years and get sprayed at least twice daily and saturated well once weekly. Generally the substrate in them has a medium moisture level most of the time. I've never had any issues with mold, the finish peeling, wood rotting or anything else. Inexpensive, easy to apply, non-toxic and durable.


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## jesst

*RE: "Paint" Protecting Wood From Water*

I used melamine paint, its called cabinet restore, but its melamine paint. It has worked so far granted ot has only been a week. It dries quickly and goes on nicely. I got mine a homedepot.


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## Kristina

People have been using marine epoxies (myself included) for YEARS to build plywood aquariums, false backgrounds, etc. in both freshwater and marine aquariums. If anything toxic was going to leach out and be deadly, it would happen in a marine aquarium, not only because of the salt in the water but for the simple fact that marine livestock is sooooooooo expensive 

http://supermarinepaint.com/bottom-revolution-SM-1000.asp

Swimming pool paints also work very well.


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## ripper7777777

Kristina said:


> People have been using marine epoxies (myself included) for YEARS to build plywood aquariums, false backgrounds, etc. in both freshwater and marine aquariums. If anything toxic was going to leach out and be deadly, it would happen in a marine aquarium, not only because of the salt in the water but for the simple fact that marine livestock is sooooooooo expensive
> 
> http://supermarinepaint.com/bottom-revolution-SM-1000.asp
> 
> Swimming pool paints also work very well.




Yep, marine epoxy is the way to go, drylok is the cheap less reliable cousin when it comes to DIY aquariums. So far I like it as a background cover, but I think if I was gonna build an aquarium I'd go Marine Epoxy.


Back to topic, I'm painting some test wood to see how well Drylok will hold up underwater on wood, again I'm not testing for DIY Aquariums, I wouldn't want it holding back several 100 gallons of water, but I want to test how well it adheres and protects wood.


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## Arizona Sulcata

*RE: "Paint" Protecting Wood From Water*

Is this for a tortoise table? On mine I attatched a waterproof tarp to the base the table. Seems to be working just fine! This way I don't have to worry about the toxic materials and in my experience it holds up better than paint or apoxy.
-Austin


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## Kristina

*RE: "Paint" Protecting Wood From Water*



Arizona Sulcata said:


> Is this for a tortoise table? On mine I attatched a waterproof tarp to the base the table. Seems to be working just fine! This way I don't have to worry about the toxic materials and in my experience it holds up better than paint or apoxy.
> -Austin



Great in theory, until you have a large and determined tortoise pull the tarp down and destroy it in less than 2 weeks time. Been there done that.


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## Tom

*RE: "Paint" Protecting Wood From Water*



Arizona Sulcata said:


> Is this for a tortoise table? On mine I attatched a waterproof tarp to the base the table. Seems to be working just fine! This way I don't have to worry about the toxic materials and in my experience it holds up better than paint or apoxy.
> -Austin



Sort of... It will be a table, but with a closed lid. Only enough of an opening for a heat lamp fixture. It will be damp, humid and the substrate will be wet on the bottom all the time. Three of them actually. I'm replacing the tubs in my tortoise room rack. The tubs were fine, but I was losing a tremendous amount of floor space due to the slope of the sides. These will be straight sided rectangles and I'm making them out of wood to fit just perfectly in the rack.



Kristina said:


> People have been using marine epoxies (myself included) for YEARS to build plywood aquariums, false backgrounds, etc. in both freshwater and marine aquariums. If anything toxic was going to leach out and be deadly, it would happen in a marine aquarium, not only because of the salt in the water but for the simple fact that marine livestock is sooooooooo expensive
> 
> http://supermarinepaint.com/bottom-revolution-SM-1000.asp
> 
> Swimming pool paints also work very well.



Thank you Krisitina. This is exactly what I was looking for! You saved me from hours of cutting, fitting, gluing amd sealing that FRP stuff.


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## Arizona Sulcata

*RE: "Paint" Protecting Wood From Water*



Kristina said:


> Great in theory, until you have a large and determined tortoise pull the tarp down and destroy it in less than 2 weeks time. Been there done that.



I don't keep large tortoises on my tort tables so I've never had that issue. Works great for me.
-Austin


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## DriveWRX

There's a YouTube video of a DIY plywood aquarium. The guy says that the tank is 3 years old and never had a problem. The video was posted April 2011 so if the tank is still up and running then it's close to 4 years. So that's 3+ years under water.
The only sealant he used was a paint-on liquid rubber. In the US, it's called "Pond Coat" (the guy is from Canada and the rubber is called something else there).

I looked it up and here's what I found: Pond Coat
Here's a quote from the product description:
"Pond Coatâ€™s waterproof barrier is perfect for water containment as the coating will not deteriorate due to prolonged exposure to water or UV rays. Pond CoatÂ® contains no toxins or VOCs, and therefore is safe for humans, fish, plants, and any other pond inhabitants!"

I like the UV resistance...

Here's a link to the video: HOW TO: Plywood Aquarium


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