We’re giving a bunch of hand-painted wooden spoons for party gifts. The handles of the spoons are painted with various colors of acrylic paint. Now we want to put a clear coat on.
What can we use? It needs to be nontoxic, and it would be nice if it held up in the dishwasher. I don’t think we can use use mineral oil or beeswax because the painted handles won’t absorb it. I don’t want to use shellac because it’s a pain in the ass.
Polyurethane? Acrylic? Nothing?
I think it will be nearly impossible to coat wooden objects in such way as to make them dishwasher safe - the combination of heat and steam will get water under the coat somehow, and this will start it lifting.
Epoxy varnishes can be boil-proof, and once fully hardened, are generally considered non-toxic, but as I say, I think it will still fail with wood as the underlying material.
You’re probably right – any suggestions for what we should use if we instruct recipients that the spoons shouldn’t go in the dishwasher?
Not sure - most of the time, wood utensils for food use get a coat based on a natural wax or oil, but that’s probably not going to work on top of paint.
Maybe look for a nursery-safe varnish - something intended for coating children’s wooden toys?