Need finish idea for toy planes

I would personally lean in favor of Tung Oil. You can apply it with a soft cloth or even a foam brush, and wipe off the excess. Let it dry for 30 minutes or so and buff with another clean cloth. You can reapply as many coats as time will allow for. And if the word "oil" scares you, it dries to a non oily, hard finish with very little odor. If you act quickly, you could work with a test piece to get familiar with it's working qualities.

Tung oil!!!!!

Thanks guys. 2 questions. Do you need to wait 24 hours between coats like boiled linseed oil? Also, any particular brand you like (that Rockler, Home Depot of Lowes sells)? Thanks

And to give credit, these are from Steve Good's plans http://www.stevedgood.com/plane.pdf. But I did not use a scrollaw because I don't have one.

Shellac dries really fast and is child safe to my knowledge. Oil is more natural but not sure about the safety factor. Will this be in children's mouths. You can get shellac in spray cans also.

I'm leaning toward shellac as well. Dries super fast; you could get quite a few coats on if you really wanted to.

Hey…..ya gotta go with shellac on this one!!!!

NO OIL on kids toys! Stick with shellac. You can get it in spray cans, but Ive wiped it on before too. Just mix it 50/50 with denatured alchohol. Poly would work also, but it takes ALOT longer to dry. I can get at least 2-3 coats in a day easy. Shellac is edible when it is fully dry. Its on pills and fruit so it wont hurt the kiddies if they chew on the toys. Just my 2 cents. Nice project too!

Thanks everyone. I used the spray shellac from Rockler for about $8. Believe it or not, it has a picutre of a toy plane on the front of the spray can. That was the clincher. I got three coats on in about 3 hours with a light sanding before the last coat and it has a nice smooth finish and gloss. Thanks again

A group I belong makes about 5,000 toys a year and we finish most of the with Mozola Corn Oil. It is child safe, dries quickly with no fumes and does not go rancid. Mineral oil can also be used, but is a little more expensive