I'm bulding a baby cradle out of pine. What sort of surface finishing is suitable, I don't want the baby to be poisoned!
May-Brith from Norway.
- posted
17 years ago
Non poisonous
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- posted
17 years ago
Expecting a rather "busy" Valentines day?
Orange shellac.....non poisonous and looks good on pine.....Rod
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- posted
17 years ago
"Rod & Betty Jo" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com...
In Norway we have someting called "kvistlakk". Translated to English it would be someting like "not lack" Is it the same as shellac?
And for the Valentines day, I'm afraid the train has left the station years ago...
May-Brith from Norway
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- posted
17 years ago
Maybe not since Shellac comes from the Lac beetle or insect
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most other varnishes or lacquers are reasonably safe once cured or dry......years ago I simply used polyurethane on my kids cradle (alder)......nonetheless Shellac is or has been used for a thin coating on pills and candies as well as 18th century furniture) and as I mentioned it looks very good on pine (at least I think so)...there are several shades of amber available with "orange" being a bit darker than some although I'd think it is the most traditional. It is available as either a liquid (hardware/paint stores) or as dried flakes (mail-order or better paint stores).....premixed it has limited shelf life (1-3 yr.) so buy the newest available...flakes last virtually indefinitely, they are mixed with alcohol as needed......Rod
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- posted
17 years ago
Shellac is an easy answer. In the US, no finish can be toxic once dried. Lead based paints have been banned for years.
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- posted
17 years ago
"Edwin Pawlowski" skrev i melding news:znXAh.44933$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr21.news.prodigy.net...
Thanks, I think I will go for the shellac.
May-Brith from Norway
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- posted
17 years ago
interesting reading. Locks like a god choice.
May-Brith from Norway
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- posted
17 years ago
If you have any application questions I'm sure the group here would help out......it is one of the easiest finishes to use though....thinned well (2lb cut or maybe less) it goes on smoothly and major mistakes are easily fixed with a alcohol wash...dries quickly and is very fast to re-coat. Rod
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- posted
17 years ago
Any commercial finish will be safe once dried. Check the labels.
Shellac isn't an ideal choice here, as it's not resistant to ammonia or urine. The finish is baby-safe, but not safe from babies.
Personally I'd use a wiped-on gel polyurethane. It's easy, strong and doesn't look too much like an all-plastic '70s finish.
I've also built a baby cradle (17th century repro, hooded design in oak) and finshed it with my usual wax over oil. It's now on its third baby and returns back to the workshop for refinishing between occupants. I blast the hell out of it with a powered plastic wire brush, then re-wax and brush it again. It's patinating nicely, although the oak and the elm baseboards have certainly darkened around the bottom edge.