Non-toxic wood finish for a crib?

[Deleted]

So we are getting an unfinished beech wood crib from Ikea for our baby. I read about how finishing it with food-grade tung oil would be the safest route to go. Around 10 coats. Last night I googled safest/non-toxic finishes for crib (since we don't want babies/toddlers chewing on toxins when they gum the rails) and found one of the most popular finishes is lineseed oil, again the safe food-grade kind that the FDA deems safe to ingest. I think it's boiled lineseed oil, that most folks were using. So I've been reading that different finishes have different effects on different types of wood. Does anyone here know if a tung oil or a lineseed oil finish would be better when it comes to beech wood? From what I know beech wood has small pores.

Some of the videos I watched went right into applying the tung oil finish with a rag or brush. Others suggested using a conditioner of sorts so that the wood absorbs the oil evenly. The website where I've been wanting to get the tung oil (https://www.realmilkpaint.com/shop/oils/pure-tung-chinawood/) suggests cutting the first layer with citrus solvent for the same reason. In the videos I watched though, they were just applying the tung oil on there with no "primer" and it looked fine in the end. 

Finally there's talk about sealers/sealants. I've read that every finish/sealer is non-toxic when fully cured. The issue is though that if we went with a final coat of something like polyurethane, it can take around an entire month to fully cure. If we didn't have that time or depending on the humidity/thickness of how much I applied it took longer to cure, it would defeat the whole non-toxic purpose of me even finishing this crib in the first place right? I read that 10 coats of tung oil should not need a finishing sealer and should be good, is that true? 

[farmchix]

I don't think I would use the polyurethane. I like the idea of the food-grade tung oil. I bought my daughter a crib when they got Some Kinda Special. (She had 10 minutes notice that they were getting him.) As soon as he started getting teeth, he was chewing on the crib and taking off the finish. She had to get a plastic rib made to go over it, but he did ingest some of the finish. That doesn't stop him from gnawing on the sides, etc., so I would do something that will cover all of the wood without being toxic.

[kawaiitimes]

We used linseed oil (I oil it whenever I happen to remember - about once every couple of years). It does show the dings, I agree, but what crib isn't going to look used after a while anyway?

[Ken]

As an attachment parent, I say forego the crib entirely.

[Deleted]

@redfish, from what I understood leaving the wood unfinished (sanded or not) would cause it to eventually mold due to the moisture in the air? Am I wrong on this? I would totally not mind something like poly on a dresser or coffee table or anything else really. As it is highly unlikely the baby would go start gumming those and if they did it wouldn't be enough to ingest enough toxicity that it would harm them. The crib railing though will be something they would be in contact with for so many hours where they are not monitored (while we sleep) that they could very well ingest giant amounts of toxins. I am using a guardrail cover but that only covers the one rail's top and leaves the rest of the crib exposed. I really don't care if it will "look" bad eventually, I figure all things that go through several babies would end up looking bad I just care if it's functional and I would be more than willing to keep up with coats of the oil down the road like kawaiitimes, suggested.

Ken, I had to google attachment parenting and I think that's awesome you're doing that. For a few different reasons we have chosen not to co-sleep with our babies though, but I do think the other aspects of attachment parenting are a huge benefit for both parent and baby

[Maura]

You should always use fine sandpaper on wood before finishing. Use the tung or linseed oil, as you wish. Once it’s dried/cured, put a plastic thingy over the rail.

If you don’t want to have the baby sleep with you (I did not either- pillows and blankets and rolling over), you can put a cradle (or a box or drawer) in your bedroom for the first month or two so he’s only a couple of steps away from you during the night. It’s so much easier. I used a bassinet and two of our DD used a cradle. I just wish I knew about slings when I had mine.

[feather]

Jul 19, 2016 21:09:24 GMT @rachelmcmurtrie said:

@redfish , from what I understood leaving the wood unfinished (sanded or not) would cause it to eventually mold due to the moisture in the air? Am I wrong on this?

I don't think plain sanded wood will mold if left unfinished. The last vacation we had we went into a church that was almost 30 years old, unfinished pine, no mold. My bread board in the kitchen is sanded and unfinished for 20 years, no mold (not even on the bottom). I oiled the bread board a couple years ago, still no mold. Though to be honest, I never expected any mold.

A crib is going to get wet, then dry, the bacteria and mold will dry, and die. It will spend most of it's life, dry.

If a child eats the crib, the wood fiber is just fiber, harmlessly passing through the person. I suggest, curry flavored oil, for a finish.

[Deleted]

Aug 5, 2016 20:40:46 GMT feather said:

Jul 19, 2016 21:09:24 GMT @rachelmcmurtrie said:

@redfish , from what I understood leaving the wood unfinished (sanded or not) would cause it to eventually mold due to the moisture in the air? Am I wrong on this?

I suggest, curry flavored oil, for a finish.

LOL I will have to see if I can find that or concoct my own perhaps? I didn't realize I could just leave it unfinished, that sounds like a lot less work lol thanks