recommend me a finish...

[fenris82]

...if you would be so kind

i need something that:

-is toy safe
-waterproof
-hard-wearing
-can be wiped clean with soapy water
-can be used on unseasoned wood
-is not too much of a pain in the arse to get the hang of
-is not lacquer.

i've been turning about a year and a half so i'm very much a novice - i would greatly appreciate any advice!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've never found anything that serves any purpose whatsoever on unseasoned timber.

 

[CHJ]

I've never found anything that serves any purpose whatsoever on unseasoned timber.

Lemon Oil can make it smell reasonable once the white spirit carrier has evaporated. , certainly NOT suitable for toys.

Toy safe/finish/unseasoned wood are oxymorons as far as I'm aware.

Plain unfinished wood is toy safe, assuming a none toxic wood is used of course, Food Safe finish 'Mineral Oil BP' will add a sheen and add some moisture resistance.

Best overall option IMHO is to stop using unseasoned wood for toy manufacture, at least any that are for use of those young enough to put things in their mouths, residual undried natural chemicals in the wood could cause sensitivity.

 

[Paul Hannaby]

I think I'm with Chas, why would you use unseasoned wood for toys?

I think you might find that many of the waterproof finishes will crack as the wood moves so to achieve your goal, you probably need the wood to be stable before you finish it.

 

[procell]

I would say a carrier bag is about the only thing I can think of that fills all the needs.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

:?: Why would you wish to put a finish on green wood?

 

[heatherw]

I disagree to a certain extent, there are some times when you want to put a finish on green wood. It wouldn't work on the fruitwoods which are very prone to cracking, but some woods don't move very much and if you put a finish on them green then they dry out much more slowly and are even less likely to crack. I've been experimenting recently and cherry, plum and apricot are nonos, but almecino, sycamore and olive react quite well to this treatment.

And for what the original poster wants, well, some kind of oil would be good to try, tung oil or danish oil or walnut oil I suppose. You'd have to do some tests, though. Obviously you won't get a polished finish, but it should repel the dirt ok and stop movement to a certain extent. Sanding sealer works too, but you wouldn't want to wash that.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I appreciate your point , but treating something to mitigate splitting isn't finishing.

 

[KimG]

I don't think such a finish exists as the one requested, anything waterproof to the degree required (soap) would pretty much automatically be a lacquer.

The one and only thing that might approach such a requirement is CA glue, it would require a lot of it, it would stick well to unseasoned wood as it binds to water molecules, it would be hard and waterproof, but would it be child safe? I don't know. It doesn't sound particularly practical anyway.

 

[fenris82]

i suppose i meant wood that is past the stage of splitting and warping (i certainly wouldnt expect a finish to do anything about that!), been drying for several months, but not utterly bone dry. thanks for the responses

 

[fenris82]

hi again - if i am using beech with a humidity of 20% or below, how would hardwax oil do for my criteria? i saw the chestnut stuff is toy safe. wondering what your experiences of it are in terms of durability, and would it be damaged by cleaning with soap?

 

[tekno.mage]

hi again - if i am using beech with a humidity of 20% or below, how would hardwax oil do for my criteria? i saw the chestnut stuff is toy safe. wondering what your experiences of it are in terms of durability, and would it be damaged by cleaning with soap?

Osm Top Oil (a hardwax oil) is toy safe and if applied as stated on the tin can be washed in soapy water without coming to harm (it doesn't mark, come off or discolour) and I have used it on green-ish wood quite satisfactorily - in that the item I made distorted rather (it was a bowl made from oak that was less seasoned that I thought) but the Osmo Oil finish performed well despite that!

 

[marcros]

not sure how it would react with the 20% MC- not favourably I would think, since it will seal in said moisture.

On dry timber, it seems durable, and I doubt that it would be damaged by the odd cleaning with soap. What toys are you making, and is there any reason why the wood cannot be dried properly first? Is this 20% just a guess or do you have a metre?

 

[fenris82]

thanks for replying

i used a moisture meter. yes i can dry the wood, i'm just curious if it's absolutely necessary for it to be utterly dry since i mainly have access to wood that is a bit wet still.

 

[winemaker]

I think there are H&S Laws of what can be used in making toys ?

 

[duncanh]

I think there are H&S Laws of what can be used in making toys ?

The only thing I found when researching baby rattles was something along the lines of 'the wood must be suitable for the purpose'. I haven't seen any specific timbers mentioned anywhere but obviously toys need to be food safe woods that won't splinter. I also decided on woods that have close grain so that won't harbour bacteria. Typically beech, sycamore, fruit woods