Paint for a crib: selection and application

Future parents must responsibly address the issue of painting a crib. They must understand that they risk their child’s health. Therefore, the requirements for paints are based, first of all, on the absence of substances and impurities harmful to the child:

Content:

• Types and characteristics of materials
• Painting the bed
• Additional recommendations
• Warnings and Cautions
• Conclusion

1. The composition of the material to be applied to children's furniture should not contain chemical compounds that evaporate into the atmosphere. They can cause allergies, mucosal irritation, and other health problems.
2. Before painting the bed, it is necessary to check the composition for the presence of toxic oxides, salts of heavy metals, toxic chemicals and other harmful substances. It is no secret that in the process of understanding the world, children are very fond of biting everything, so it is likely that a small part of the coating will enter the child's body, which can lead to unpleasant consequences.
3. Based on the first and second points, the material should be made on the basis of harmless solvents. After drying, particles of solvents used in the manufacture of paints and varnishes will still remain on the surface.
4. The composition should contain both non-combustible materials, and those that during the combustion process will not emit harmful substances.
5. The surface of the furniture is always subject to wear due to rubbing, washing, food, humidity and temperature in the room, and mechanical stress during games. Therefore, it is necessary to add elasticity, strength, wear resistance, and cleanability to the requirements of the finishing layer.
6. The coating should be glossy, as the matte will quickly get dirty and harder to clean.
7. The color of the finishing layer should be bright, juicy, cheerful and cheerful, as children love such shades.

Types and characteristics of materials

Paints and varnishes that satisfy the above requirements can be divided into several types: acrylic, acrylate, water-based paints and nitro paints. There are still separately special paints and varnishes, but they are rarely used because of the very high cost.

The best choice is water-based acrylic paints. They do no harm, are easy to apply, and have a rich color palette. The pluses include wear resistance, high resistance to mechanical stress, lack of emissions of harmful substances, long shelf life (5 to 10 years). The structure of acrylic paints does not deteriorate due to constant cleaning. However, they have one minus: a relatively high cost.

Acrylate materials are also very wear resistant and flexible. They create a perfectly even coating that is harmless and safe. However, this coating is short-lived and requires careful cleaning and washing.

Water-based coatings are a good choice for those who did not use acrylic and acrylate.They are safe, but at the same time short-lived and easily erased.

Oil waxes are most often recommended by European manufacturers. Consist of natural oil and wax. The oil is deeply absorbed into the wood, and the wax remains outside, thereby creating a protective water-repellent coating that is resistant to all types of wear. Of the shortcomings, only high cost can be noted.

Nitro paints also a good option if there is nothing else at hand. Relatively wearproof, fireproof, durable coating.

They give a flawless appearance. The main disadvantages are the high cost and fragility.

Painting the bed

The main work process will require a sponge, brush and roller. The roller is needed to apply a layer on even large surfaces. The racks and bars of the crib are processed with a brush. Sponge is used for small parts. There is paint in an aerosol package, that is, the crib may be painted by spraying. But this method is too costly and increases paint consumption.

During the staining process, care must be taken to ensure that drops do not collect in inappropriate places. Do not draw large amounts of paint onto a roller or brush.

It will take a little time to work. Let us single out its main stages:

1. First you need to remove the mattress from the bed and disassemble it, if possible. Move parts to the place where the crib needs to be painted.
2. If there is an old layer, then it must be deleted. In this case, you will need a building hair dryer, putty knife, grinder with a metal brush.
3. Using fine grain sandpaper, polish the wood surface, making it smoother.
4. Large parts must be polished using a drill with a special round nozzle with emery pads.
5. Remove dust from all treated surfaces in order to apply the most even layer.
6. Small parts must be washed in soapy water and dried.
7. Stain all the skinned elements with stain.
8. After drying, assemble the bed, firmly connecting all the details.
9. Apply paint on all parts in two layers.
10. Then clean with a cloth or emery cloth the place where the drops accumulated.
11. After painting, the bed must be put outside (for example, on the balcony), so that the paint is completely dry.

You can do differently. After removing the old layer, putty is applied for wooden surfaces based on a polymer composition.

It closes all cracks, chips and flaws. Further, all parts, similar to the first method, are sanded with sandpaper. The primer is applied. Then everything is repeated from 8 points.

Additional recommendations

It is not necessary to paint the crib with just one type of material. You can be creative and paint only some of the elements, while others can simply be varnished, as the wood surface itself is very beautiful. You can make the furniture colorful. So the baby will be able to learn to distinguish colors.

Warnings and Cautions

1. Staining should be done two to three weeks before the start of operation of the crib in order to identify and eliminate defects after drying the surface.
2. If the surface is bubbling and lags behind the layers, then it must be cleaned with sandpaper again, treated with a solvent and painted again.
3. When using aerosol paints, work must be carried out in a well-ventilated area and use personal protective equipment.
4. Coloring should take place in a clean, dust-free room, in which there are no flying insects, since they can stick to a fresh layer.
5. If the top layer is dry, then this does not mean that the bottom layer is also dry. Final drying requires 7-8 hours.

Conclusion

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that painting a crib is not very difficult and not too expensive.The main thing is to choose the right material and strictly follow the instructions for the implementation of paintwork.