Question from TA
Debra, I’m looking for products to finish some wood furniture. Given that the items will be used by my child, I’m looking for things that are safe, durable, and possibly even safe to eat off of (in the case of clear-coating a wood table, for instance). And I’m sensitive to strong odors, so it needs to be low-odor as well. I know that AFM make Polyureseal, and we have actually used that previously for a couple of smaller things, but I haven’t yet looked into whether it’s safe for food contact.
I know that you recommend Old Fashioned Milk Paint, but I believe you used that for painting walls rather than wood furniture, correct? I see on their website that it does need a clear acrylic finish, and they recommend AFM Safecoat Acriglaze for that. For children’s products, which will inevitably come in contact with water, we’d need to use that finish, apparently. Are there any other paints that are safe to use “as is” without applying a clear finish on top?
Debra’s Answer
This is a difficult question to answer off the top of my head.
I searched for “food safe paint” and got a variety of answers, including one that said all paints and finishes are safe once they are cured! I wouldn’t agree with that!
Some toys say that the are painted with safe paints. If I remember correctly, these are usually paints that don’t contain heavy metals.
I would contact Ecos Paints and see if their paints and finishes meet your needs. I searched for “food safe” on their site and nothing came up, but they have a pet paint. The page says “For animals, this problem is doubled, because they are in the habit of actively sniffing their environment and even licking, biting and chewing things that we would never put in our mouths. As a result, pets actively ingest the harmful chemicals that normally remain on walls, floors and doors.”
And their pet paint is designed to be safe for pets and their behaviors.
Readers, any suggestions?
You should look into shellac. The regular shellac you can buy at the hardware store indicates it is safe for children’s toys. I used it instead of poly for all wood surfaces in my home. It smells strongly of the alcohol solvent when it is applied but that volatilizes pretty quickly. When it has cured, it is a natural shellac coating.
Milk paint is very safe, and at the bottom of the FAQ page they say it is safe for children’s toys.
http://milkpaint.com/about_faq.html#IS%20MILK%20PAINT%20SAFE%20TO%20USE%20ON%20CHILDREN%27S%20TOYS?
For me I think it would depend on the toy – but a clear coat will preserve the color. AFM clear coat has always been good, however I am now fascinated with what I see on the website for Ecos Paints. Thank you Debra for that info.