No finish for a pine radiator cover?

[sploo]

I'm making a cover to go over the bottom part of our bathroom radiator, in order to keep our recently mobile small person from burning herself on it.

It's going to consist of four 34mm square lengths of pine, with ~40x12mm stretchers (forming a dense "fence" on the front and sides).

It'll inevitably come into contact with wet towels, and will of course suffer large heat changes, but, like a sauna, I'm wondering if the best finish on it would be nothing. I'm thinking that any sort of oil or wax would be a problem (getting into towels) and varnishes might perish and crack - it is also at risk of being chewed by said same small person. It only needs to last for a year or two, so is no finish the best choice, or is there some coating that might be suitable?

 

[rafezetter]

There are child safe finishes available for wood, but I've not personally used them so cannot attest to how they react to radiator type heat, plus as you say, untreated wood will not have any adverse effects on anything it touches - assuming there are not resiny knots on it.

I would personally leave it natural.

 

[sploo]

Thanks.

Some knots, but nothing obviously resinous fortunately.

I've got food safe finishes (mineral oil, beeswax, or indeed a paste made from the two) but I suspect they wouldn't stand up to the abuse of damp towels, might stain the towels, and the heat from the radiator alone probably wouldn't do them much good.

The gist for saunas very much seems to be "no finish" (put, obviously, plenty of Finnish :mrgreen so I might just leave it bare and see how it holds up. It only needs to last for a year or two, until hopefully the sprog is old enough to understand that head butting a hot metal radiator isn't a good idea.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

I've got food safe finishes (mineral oil, beeswax, or indeed a paste made from the two) but I suspect they wouldn't stand up to the abuse of damp towels...

You're right to be cautious about those finishes for the reasons you give. In your circumstances a fairly easily applied finish that will hold up to abuse rather well would be a couple of coats, or maybe three coats, of water based varnish. One advantage would be to reduce the likelihood of fuzzy wood grain developing, because of contact with water, which would tend to feel rather rough, and perhaps snag on towels and the like.

And, because this child barrier isn't intended for long term use you could even perhaps get away with an application that's not stellar, ha, ha. Slainte.

 

[mouppe]

I'd use cedar instead of pine and leave it unfinished. It's highly rot-resistant which is perfect for a bathroom. Our cedar sauna has been going strong for over twenty years now without the slightest problem.

 

[sploo]

I've got food safe finishes (mineral oil, beeswax, or indeed a paste made from the two) but I suspect they wouldn't stand up to the abuse of damp towels...

You're right to be cautious about those finishes for the reasons you give. In your circumstances a fairly easily applied finish that will hold up to abuse rather well would be a couple of coats, or maybe three coats, of water based varnish. One advantage would be to reduce the likelihood of fuzzy wood grain developing, because of contact with water, which would tend to feel rather rough, and perhaps snag on towels and the like.

And, because this child barrier isn't intended for long term use you could even perhaps get away with an application that's not stellar, ha, ha. Slainte.

I'd be worried that our little one might decide to try to chew it, and therefore get herself some dried varnish - which was the reason I was worried about that type of coating.

Your mention of "Slainte" makes me think I could get away with a liberal application of a good malt on me, and not worry about the coating on the wood :wink:

I'd use cedar instead of pine and leave it unfinished. It's highly rot-resistant which is perfect for a bathroom. Our cedar sauna has been going strong for over twenty years now without the slightest problem.

Cedar's not easy to find at Wickes , plus I have now cut most of the parts from pine. However, yes, for a longer term product I'd have definitely used something better than pine.

There won't be much end grain showing in the finished article, so hopefully it'd be easy to lightly sand any roughness that might occur over time.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

I'd be worried that our little one might decide to try to chew it, and therefore get herself some dried varnish - which was the reason I was worried about that type of coating.

From what I understand the dried film isn't toxic, and any toxicity exists whilst the varnish is still in liquid form. The same, I believe, applies to most of the other finishes. So if the dry film is non-toxic any ingested varnish would pass through the system. I think the concern people have about finishes focuses primarily on those finishes that come into contact with food during its preparation, e.g., oiled chopping boards.

However, I understand your caution and it might be worth checking toxicity with the maker. Below, there's a link to Rustin's water based Quick Dry Clear Varnish, at the end of which they say "The product complies with the requirements of the Toy Safety Regulations, BS EN 71", which suggests ingestion probably isn't a concern. Slainte.
http://www.rustins.eu/healthSafety/Acry ... arnish.pdf

 

[sjalloq]

PolyX is child safe: http://www.osmouk.com/sitechapter.cfm?c ... 2&page=247

They even say, "Saliva-resistant and sweatproof, suitable for children's toys".

 

[sploo]

PolyX is child safe: http://www.osmouk.com/sitechapter.cfm?c ... 2&page=247

They even say, "Saliva-resistant and sweatproof, suitable for children's toys".

Thanks. The issue though is; would it stand up to being an inch away from a hot radiator?