Anyone have some cloudy finish advice?

[Zelg]

So a while back I built a plywood enclosure for a white lipped python I purchased. First off, the finish took MONTHS to cure to the point of not having any fumes. This unforeseen problem resulted in having to house the poor snake first a glass aquarium where he got a RI, then a tub. Unfortunately the snake died. I take full responsibility for its death and it certainly weighs heavily on me. I had taken it to a vet, got some injections and not too long after finishing the injections I went to feed him and found a dead snake. It definitely hit me hard but I am now past the grief stage and learned a valuable lesson. Have your setups 100% functional before purchase. What you can get away with for a BP will kill another species.

Anyways, back on topic. So, I thought I had my cage all ready to go, put some lighting in it and placed a couple of hides and a ceramic(?) water dish that leaks. Well the next day after decorating, I went to view things so I could add in substrate and low and behold when I moved the water dish I had two milky white cloudy blush marks. So I contacted a friend who, on and off, has done wood finish work for furniture the past 15 or so years. He is, as far as I know (which is nothing), knowledgeable on products and how to fix things. He suggested Mohawk no blush super retarder. Spray that on, let it do its thing and voila, brand new and moisture proof.

Well I did that, the clouds were gone, and I assumed everything was fixed. I redecorated my cage and this time loaded it up with cypress mulch and cage accessories. The next day I wiped away the cypress mulch to check on the floor and sure enough....the WHOLE floor was white and cloudy.

I have since given the floor a few more coats of the blush retarder and days of drying. The white cloud disappeared as expected but now I'm expecting more cloudyness when I re-add the mulch or any moisture to the floor. Call me a pessimist.

So, my questions for those DIY builders out there in snake land are:

Is this a common problem? And are there any OTHER ways to fix said problem? My understanding is that I didnt stir my polyurethane well enough during application and possibly didnt allow each coat to dry long enough. Am I, excuse the 'ol French, "Eff'd?" Do I need to just scrap it and start over on a new cage? I'm hoping to get "reptile" DIY'ers that have experience with this. My wood finishing buddy has no clue about the products effects on animals but assumes they're safe plus hes currently living in So. Cal and im on the central coast, otherwise I'd just have him come over and fix it lol.


I had stained and then used varathane 3x thick polyurethane.

I'll attach a couple of pics. Hope this works.

*edit* no clue why the first two pics are upside down....you get the idea though.