Child Safe Finish on play blocks?

[KennyR]

Does anyone know what is safe to paint building blocks with? 

I am going to make building blocks (yes that is the extent of my skills) for my grandkids and I need to find a child safe paint.  For the blocks, not the grandkids (although that would help me remember their names).

Ken.

 

[RayS]

Does anyone know what is safe to paint building blocks with? 

I am going to make building blocks (yes that is the extent of my skills) for my grandkids and I need to find a child safe paint.  For the blocks, not the grandkids (although that would help me remember their names).

Ken.

Rockler carries this in a variety of fairly bright colors in ready-mix powders, but I can't remember the name.

 

[AndrewDS]

I make toys for my nephews, both under 5, and I have done a couple of things.

1)  I have used food coloring to dye wood.  Depending on how dark you want the color depends on how long the piece is in the food coloring bath.  A recipe for this, I seem to remember, is water and drops of food coloring, again it depends on how dark you want the pieces to be.

2)  A spray polyurethane.  Not just the spray poly's but the brush on poly's are non-toxic when they dry.  It is in the liquid form that one has to be careful of.

3)  Always let the parents know what you used for a finish!

I hope that this helps.

 

[Eli]

Unfinished wood is usually child-safe ;D.

Building blocks are not fine furniture. You don't see many old blocks around. Kids chew them up, dunk them in soup and yogurt, run them over, bury them, and ultimately kill them. And if they don't, they beg you to get them a dog and then they feed the blocks to the dog. If you make them a toy that they love, anyway. If they don't like it maybe the blocks will be on antiques roadshow someday. My .02

 

[Tinker]

When using vegetable dyes, always use flavors like brocholi, spinach, carrots, turnips and all those wonderful goodies that kids hate : ;D 8)
Tinker

 

[eweber]

I think I read in Understandig Wood Finishing that all common finishs are safe as long as they are fully cured. The trick is that some finish can take several months to cure.

Emmanuel