Ts

TD

05/08/2003 11:58 AM

toy safety finish

Hi
I'm starting to make wood toys and I'm concerned about safety.
Any suggestions on a finish that's kid safe and reasonably priced.
Any help would appreciated.
Thanks Tom


This topic has 10 replies

Mi

"Mike in Mystic"

in reply to TD on 05/08/2003 11:58 AM

06/08/2003 2:06 PM

Any finish is perfectly safe as long as you let it completely cure.

I used General Finishes EF water-based stain and EF polyacrylic blend on the
crib and cradle I made. They dried very fast and gave good results.

Mike


--

There are no stupid questions.
There are a LOT of inquisitive idiots.


"TD" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi
> I'm starting to make wood toys and I'm concerned about safety.
> Any suggestions on a finish that's kid safe and reasonably priced.
> Any help would appreciated.
> Thanks Tom
>

BL

Barry Lennox

in reply to TD on 05/08/2003 11:58 AM

06/08/2003 11:31 PM

On Tue, 05 Aug 2003 11:58:16 -0700, TD <[email protected]> wrote:

>Hi
>I'm starting to make wood toys and I'm concerned about safety.
>Any suggestions on a finish that's kid safe and reasonably priced.
>Any help would appreciated.
>Thanks Tom

Shellac and/or soya bean oil. Weak pastel colours can be obtained from
coffee, beetroot, red cabbage, or berry juices.

Barry Lennox

TM

Thomas Mitchell

in reply to TD on 05/08/2003 11:58 AM

05/08/2003 3:07 PM

I started making toys recently and posted the same question. Some of the
responses that I received was that most finishes are safe when they are
dry. As a parent that doesn't comfort me. :) Most of the toys I've been
making are unfinished. The two finishes that I have used include Mineral
Oil straight from the grocery store, and a Non toxic Toy Finish from
Cherry Tree, which if memory serves was listed as mineral oil plus a
couple other ingredients. Not sure about the list of ingredients, but it
looked like mineral oil and applied like mineral oil.

TD wrote:
> Hi
> I'm starting to make wood toys and I'm concerned about safety.
> Any suggestions on a finish that's kid safe and reasonably priced.
> Any help would appreciated.
> Thanks Tom
>

Ts

TD

in reply to TD on 05/08/2003 11:58 AM

05/08/2003 8:18 PM



Thanks for all the help. You guys are great!
Tom

TM

Thomas Mitchell

in reply to TD on 05/08/2003 11:58 AM

06/08/2003 10:02 AM

I just bought an airbrush. Any idea if I can use shellac with the airbrush?

Chris Merrill wrote:
> Thomas Mitchell wrote:
>
>> So is aspartame, with a warning that it causes cancer in laboratory
>> mices. I wouldn't use aspartame for a finish. Just a comment that even
>> though something is approved by the FDA, doesn't necessarily mean that
>> you should digest it.
>
>
> But the odds are a lot better than something that is NOT approved.
> If you've eaten M&Ms (or other hard, shiny candy), you've probably eaten
> shellac.
>
>> I'd forgotten about being told shellac was in a lot of foods. I'll
>> have to try using it sometime. If I recall though its a mess to clean up?
>
>
> Not in my opinion. I'm starting to really like shellac.
>
> I've just finished my first few shellac experiments - cleanup is trivial.
> Completely dissolves in alcohol - so the brush cleans easily (see brush-
> cleaning thread). Fumes are mild, compared to poly & mineral spirits or
> laquer (anything is mild compared to laquer!). Got a little sticky on my
> hands, but seems to wash off with water.
>
> ************************************
> Chris Merrill
> [email protected]
> (remove the ZZZ to contact me)
> ************************************
>

CM

Chris Merrill

in reply to TD on 05/08/2003 11:58 AM

06/08/2003 1:01 PM

Thomas Mitchell wrote:
> So is aspartame, with a warning that it causes cancer in laboratory
> mices. I wouldn't use aspartame for a finish. Just a comment that even
> though something is approved by the FDA, doesn't necessarily mean that
> you should digest it.

But the odds are a lot better than something that is NOT approved.
If you've eaten M&Ms (or other hard, shiny candy), you've probably eaten
shellac.

> I'd forgotten about being told shellac was in a lot of foods. I'll have
> to try using it sometime. If I recall though its a mess to clean up?

Not in my opinion. I'm starting to really like shellac.

I've just finished my first few shellac experiments - cleanup is trivial.
Completely dissolves in alcohol - so the brush cleans easily (see brush-
cleaning thread). Fumes are mild, compared to poly & mineral spirits or
laquer (anything is mild compared to laquer!). Got a little sticky on my
hands, but seems to wash off with water.

************************************
Chris Merrill
[email protected]
(remove the ZZZ to contact me)
************************************

CM

Chris Merrill

in reply to TD on 05/08/2003 11:58 AM

06/08/2003 2:02 AM

TD wrote:
> I'm starting to make wood toys and I'm concerned about safety.
> Any suggestions on a finish that's kid safe and reasonably priced.

Shellac...it's FDA approved for food - can't get much safer than that!

************************************
Chris Merrill
[email protected]
(remove the ZZZ to contact me)
************************************

CM

Chris Merrill

in reply to TD on 05/08/2003 11:58 AM

06/08/2003 4:53 PM

Thomas Mitchell wrote:
> I just bought an airbrush. Any idea if I can use shellac with the airbrush?

I don't know the difference between an airbrush and a spray gun (I've never
used a spray finish that didn't come from a can). IIRC, Flexner says you can
spray shellac, but you'll need to stick with a 2lb cut.


************************************
Chris Merrill
[email protected]
(remove the ZZZ to contact me)
************************************

FC

Fly-by-Night CC

in reply to TD on 05/08/2003 11:58 AM

06/08/2003 12:29 AM

In article <[email protected]>, TD <[email protected]>
wrote:

> I'm starting to make wood toys and I'm concerned about safety.
> Any suggestions on a finish that's kid safe and reasonably priced.
> Any help would appreciated.

In addition to the other comments, you might be interested in the Tried
& True line of finishes:
<http://www.TRIEDandtruewoodfinish.com/>

--
Owen Lowe and his Fly-by-Night Copper Company
Offering a shim for the Porter-Cable 557 type 2 fence design.
<http://www.flybynightcoppercompany.com>
<http://www.easystreet.com/~onlnlowe/index.html>

RR

"Robert Rushing"

in reply to TD on 05/08/2003 11:58 AM

05/08/2003 9:29 PM

I don't remember the issue number, but Wood MAg about a year back had tips
on safe finishes for toys. I remember for colors they used natural products
ie teas or coffee for browns and I believe beet juice for redder colors.

Robert


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