finish for old, wooden highchair

[beemama]

I bought this highchair at a rummage sale, not knowing how much work it would be to sand it all down. It looks crummy, we may still paint it. What can I seal the tray with so it will be safe for dd to eat off of? TIA!

[SpoonyJo]

finish

The best food-safe finish for wood is (in my opinion) a "salad bowl" finish -- simply rub the wood down with a heavy coat of mineral oil, let it soak in as long as possible, wipe off excess, repeat...repeat... you can use fine/xfine steel wool to rub the oil in before you wipe off if you want, for a smoother finish. If the finish starts to dull, you can just rub in more mineral oil. (Mineral oil is better than food oils because it will not go rancid.)

[jadegirl553]

You could also wax it. I'd do the oil/wax thing if you can get the origional paint all the way off AND if the wood looks decent, it might not.

Other than that, You can always ask the people at a paint store, and then research their advice on the internet.