It's a tricky business making sealants from delicate food safe ingredients.   We never add any solvents to improve drying time as we believe it's more important to protect children and the environment from toxins.

Tiny Land sealants are 100% plant ingredients and are food-safe.  This means they are suitable for use on chopping boards, toys and other wooden items that may make contact with the mouth.

The sealants protect wood from moisture damage and prevents any colourants from being transferred.  Paints and Stains may transfer from wood when in contact with water, including saliva and sweat.

Storage
This wood sealant should be kept away from UV light in a cool, dark place.   Plant oils can become rancid through exposure to light and heat.
The sealant should smell slightly woody and orangey and a little bit like potatoes!

The Magic!
It is very important to follow these instructions carefully, as if you apply too much sealant, you will find it takes too long to dry.
This oil is a curing oil, which means it doesn’t dry from evaporation like water, but through polymerisation - or curing.
Polymerisation is the hardening of the oil through using oxygen.  
It forms a natural, smooth plastic layer which needs a light sanding prior to the next layer to create a ‘key’ for the next one to adhere to.

Application
1. Firstly sand your wood.  Wet sanding can raise the grain for taking paint and stains better.  Each project and artist is different you may want to use between 120 and 240 grit.  Experiment and have fun!

2. If you haven’t wet sanded you can wet the wood slightly and add your colour.  If you’re not colouring you can skip this bit.  If you do colour then finely sand afterwards to create the key the sealant requires.

3. Apply the sealant!
You can apply the sealant with a brush but you may find it easier to control the amount you apply by using a cloth or sponge, as the amount needs to be very slight.  You want to wet it, but not soak it or slap it on.

 

4. Each coat needs to be left for 48 hours at least to enable it to oxygenate sufficiently for the next layer to go on.  Each additional layer limits the oxygen reaching the one underneath so you may want to wait for longer.  Warmth will not decrease drying time however a well-oxygenated room will help.

Sand after each coat is touch dry.

 

5. The final number of coats recommended for heavy-use items is 5 or 6.  Particularly if you're sealing an item for outdoors (which will require an annual re-seal).

 

6. Fine sand afterwards.  When making stacking toys, you may wish to use a less fine grit to enable to items to stack and not slip off such as 120.