My DIY Fake wood. First attempt - Page 5

beckdg · #41 (**permalink**) 09-12-2010, 04:21 PM

absolutely, tazely. not a problem!

JoeG · #42 (**permalink**) 09-12-2010, 06:02 PM

Me and my BIG mouth !!!

I still like the idea. Besides, innovation sometimes means throwing caution to the wind... I mean who the heck thought Kitty litter would be OK to make a background with!!!

Ma77hew7 · #43 (**permalink**) 09-13-2010, 03:07 AM

Lots of great ideas, valid concerns, & risk to human creator of such vines. My question would be... How long will the PVC vines leach the toxins after the burn session? I burnt the hell out of mine. Then sanded down, & scrubbed the vine wet/dry to desired color in each area. I have had it in various soaking baths since. I'm looking for some hard evidence... That anything will, or won't help to pull the toxins out of the PVC. Then to see how long till it can be used w/ inhabitants, if ever... Mine is still soaking in the bathtub while I'm looking for those answers

I just hope we can find answers. People who want to do this should have a definitive answer available for them. I believe we are the Forum to give it to them

I hope for a "safe for herps",(in given time frame w/ x amount of precautions/ treatments)... I'll prepare myself for "hort use only".

beckdg · #44 (**permalink**) 09-13-2010, 10:14 AM

pvc leeches dioxins about indefinitely afaik. just not at a massive rate. my best guess would be it's best not to blacken anything you're planning on keeping with critters. other than that i'd assume that most of the damage is done at this point and that only so much dioxin could leach from a piece and most of that was done during burning. i can't say it'll still be a problem at this point but i would probably steer away from using anything that had been charred to the point of the piece you posted. heat and plastic is typically a delicate issue. so... applying heat to plastic should be done in a careful manner as to not heat it beyond what's absolutely necessary to achieve the desired result.

basically, the thought i'm dancing around at this point is i'd probably toss that piece you made and apply heat more sparingly to your next endeavor... but i can't prove by any quantitative measure exactly what you're going to get nor for how long as i don't have the lab equipment available to me to run any tests.

Ma77hew7 · #45 (**permalink**) 09-13-2010, 01:28 PM

Good call Beck... That makes sense. I might just have to paint one next time. I was happy will the look of mine though

Thanks again CrazyAirborne for inspiring us!

beckdg · #46 (**permalink**) 09-13-2010, 02:21 PM

well, this thread could use some more pics... how'd it come out in the end?