What's in the paint?

Some people might ask themselves: what does it matter what my children's furniture is painted with as long as it looks good and lasts well.

Well we think that's important too but most important is what effect it will have on our children. That's why we spent years pioneering a sprayable non-toxic waterbased acrylic paint technique which looks and feels like duco but without the fumes or acid catalysts. And better yet it can be touched up and wipes clean.

Normally in the children's furniture industry Acid Catalyst Lacquer is widely used in the spraying of children's furniture, particularly MDF furniture. These paints are typically composed of three main elements: the pigment; the binder, and the solvent.

The pigment delivers the colour and opacity and this is where you might find the illegal use of lead pigments. Lead has been replaced with titanium dioxide, usually coated with silicon or aluminium oxides which equally enhance opacity and durability.
The binder is the resin that is the film-forming component of the paint. Binders include acrylics, polyurethane, polyesters, melamine resins, epoxy, or oils.
The solvent is used to carry the other components and used to adjust viscosity for application. This employs a solvent which evaporates during drying and curing leaving a hard finish. In my experience the solvent evaporates in two stages: dry to touch, and smell away. When you open a new dresser or wardrobe and take a sniff it is the solvent you smell. This should be allowed to dissipate completely before exposing to a young child. If you smell a smell [often referred to as a 'new smell' by the retailer] when you open a new piece of furniture it will be the solvent. The furniture should be allowed to stand and air itself in a draught to remove this smell before it is placed in a child's room. Typically the furniture will have been finished many weeks earlier, but being boxed for transport encapsulates the smell until it is opened by the new owner.