I have built a container for my cat litter tray in the hallway to keep it out of sight and out of mind and it is looking pretty good, but wondering about the long term viability in terms of build up of cat piss. The litter tray itself is a massive stainless steel one with tall sides so not super worried, but wondering is there anything at all I can do for a bit more peace of mind?
oil-based polyurethane (especially high-build) is pretty serious with just a few coats, but isn't available in all parts of the country due to the VOCs given off during the curing phase. sanding between coats forms a great bond. i'd use an old tshirt or some lint free rag to apply and a little tiny can from a generic hardware store would be more than enough. it takes like 1-2 weeks to fully cure and become scratch resistant. there's videos and plenty of resources online for how to apply it. it's chill, just takes a lot of waiting between coats / overall. it can really make wood look slick and bring out the beauty of grain patterns.
water based is lower VOC but i don't think it would stand up to the piss.
Perfect thanks will check it out
Wear a mask and apply it and let it cure somewhere covered but with very high airflow, like outside under a covered porch. Some people are really cavalier with the VOCs, but they can absolutely mess you up.
Just to add on to this: let it cure completely! Those VOCs may be just below perceptible to you, but that little kitty is way more sensitive to the harmful effects
Oh absolutely. Way safer to overestimate the cure time than underestimate and hurt Kitty.
I found that diluting oil poly with mineral spirits made applying it smoothly easier. I started 50/50 then either increased or decreased the amount of poly on subsequent layers. I think increased. And use plain mineral spirits to remove dust after sanding between coats.