by maipham

August 15, 2020

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You are going to have a new member join your family and you have prepared the best room for your little angel.

The only missing piece is a beautiful crib that matches the room color and you are done preparing your baby's room.

So you go to the stores, and you look online all over for the best crib there is. But you try and try but can't find the one with the right color.

What are you going to do? Have the crib custom made or buy a regular one and paint it or build your crib and paint it?

Painting a crib is far from complex or difficult. Even if you have zero skill with the brushes and the paint, you can still easily nail the job.

However, now it narrows down to find the safe, non-toxic baby crib paint.

In this article, I'm going to review some safest, non-toxic baby crib paint and tips on how to paint a baby crib.

Top 5 safest, non-toxic baby crib paint

Renaissance Furniture Paint

When it comes to safe baby crib paint, the first choice that came to my mind is the Renaissance Paint.

What I love about this paint is that it is made from high-quality ingredients with zero VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) and zero emissions. It is completely non-toxic and hypoallergenic.

It is available in many different colors so that you can easily use one paint brand for any color you pick for your baby crib or nursery room.

What's more, it doesn't require any sanding or priming before using it. 

It usually takes 1 to 2 coats to get the superior coverage you want.

It dries quickly and has no odor while offering a silky chalky finish.

However, some feedbacks are saying that the paint dries too quickly while they don't paint that quickly, causing some clumps on the piece. This paint is more pricey than other non-toxic paints.

Rust-Oleum Interior Paint

Another popular and safe baby crib paint is the Rust-Oleum brand. The Rust-Oleum provides even and smooth coverage on many materials and surfaces, such as wood, ceramic, and metal. So this paint is very handy if you have the intention to paint the nursery room or any other indoor furniture.

This baby crib paint has low odor and it features the latex formula. When you paint, if you spray it or spill it, or you just simply change your mind, as long as it is not dry, you can use water and soap to remove it.

However, it dries quite quickly, in around 30 minutes so you have to quickly make changes. If you are not handy or familiar with DIY, you might have some trouble when the paint dries too fast.

Amy Howard One Step paint

Amy Howard One Step Paint is a water-based formula paint that allows easy cleanup. If you spill or make a mess, before it dries up, just wipe it off from the surfaces.

It contains zero VOC, zero odor that makes it a great choice for a baby crib paint, or any other furniture in your baby’s nursery room.

It dries quickly in only 20 minutes with great coverage and adhesion, requires no stripping, sanding or priming.

However, as it dries quickly, you also have to be quick when you paint.

Chalk mountains furniture paint

Chalk mountains received great feedback from customers over the years as it is a non-toxic paint, containing zero VOC and very low odor.

It dries in 30 minutes between every coat. So if after the first coat, the second layer is needed, they recommend you sand the imperfection lightly to have a smooth surface.

It is available in a wide range of colors so that you can be loyal to this brand even if you need to paint everything in your house.

Old Fashioned Milk Paint

This is a special type of paint, as it comes in the powder form. It is safe to use as your baby crib paint as it contains zero VOC and environmentally safe.

You have to mix the powder with water to make pints, quarts or gallons. It is a little more work required, but it offers a better and safer storage choice.

It can work on different types of surfaces such as wood and masonry.

However, it does have a little odor so you will want to keep the air circulating and paint your baby crib a few days, even weeks before using, just to be safe.

It dries fast so just make enough for your immediate use.

What makes a safe baby crib paint

You are going to paint your baby crib. And for the first few months, your baby will spend most of his time laying and sleeping on that very crib.

With such a long time contact, you want to make sure the baby crib paint that you are using is as safe as possible.

What you are looking for is something that is: Zero VOC, Odorless or low odor, and no toxic chemicals.

What is VOC?

VOC stands for "volatile organic compound." VOCs are found in many building materials and are partially responsible for that new paint smell.

The Environmental Protection Agency listed down many health effects when contacting VOC often, such as eye, nose and throat irritation, headache, bad for liver and kidney, etc.

So our best choice is to go with something that is completely VOC-free.

How to paint a baby crib

baby crib paint

Depending on the crib you have, either an old crib your family gives you, or a project you build from scratch, you have a slightly different start. However, in general, there are few steps to follow to paint a baby crib.

Remove grime and dirt

Make sure that the baby crib is clean and free of dirt or grime, as these things will cause clumps on the surface.

You can use a clean cloth or wipe the baby crib clean, or furniture cleaner if the grime and dirt are too stubborn.

Sand the crib if needed

If the surface is not smooth, or the crib has its original color, the best option is to sand the crib as it will help the paint adhere to the surface much better.

A small note on choosing the sandpaper is that the sandpaper should not be too rough. Something between #160 to #250 grit sandpaper will do the work just fine.

Wipe off the sanding dust after you sand the crib.

Select the paint color(s)

If you want to apply more than 1 color on the baby crib, then a small tip is to use tape to avoid making a mess.

Tape the area you don’t want a specific color on, and only remove it when the paint around is it completely dried.

Apply the paint

Once the crib is nice, clean, and smooth and you finish taping, use a small or medium paintbrush to apply the first coat of the paint.

Depending on the paint, you might not need to apply the second coat, but if there is any imperfection and you want to fix it, sand it lightly and apply another layer.

Even though the paints I selected above are safe and odorless or low odor, make sure you keep the air circulating in the room during painting and leave the window/door open for the next few days. Just to be 1000% sure.

Final thought

Just imagine your baby sleeps in that brand new crib that you just painted for him. It is something that he will sleep on for such a long time. It is cute, it matches the design of his nursery room and it is from you.

What can make parents happy more than watching their babies enjoying something they work so hard for? Well, hard work pays off.

So go ahead, don’t hesitate in choosing the design for your baby’s nursery just because you are afraid of not having the matching color of the crib.

Now you have the list of non-toxic and safe baby crib paint, you can go wild with your design and color if you want to.

About the author 

Mai Pham

Mai Pham discovered her passion for writing a few years ago and she never stop thinking about it ever since. She finally took the leap and created Live a Worthy Life to brag about her smart ass (mainly just for fun). Enjoyed the fun writing brings, now with her new interest in everything-baby-related, she created Mommy Instinct, to tell mamas that it's ok that they mess up, that they don't know what the hell they are doing, and that it's okay to sit back and relax for a while.

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