Hi all,

We're expecting our first baby, and I decided to have a go at making the cot. It's my first woodworking project of any sort, but the all the parts are now made and waiting to be assembled. The problem I'm having is trying to work out which finishing/varnish would be best to use. Ideally we want a transparent finish which will obviously be fairly durable but also safe for the baby to chew. I know there's several other threads on this, which I've read. The complication for us though is that we live in Peru, where many of the products being recommended on the other threads aren't available, and where questions about safety etc. just aren't taken into consideration (which is part of the reason for wanting to make my own cot in the first place).

I visited the only reputable hardware store in the area and was sold two things - a Pyroxylin based lacquer and a transparent varnish (I checked with the varnish manufacturers and it is lead free). I was told that I should use both - first the lacquer and then the varnish. However after getting home and doing a bit of research on the web, there seems to be disagreement over whether using both is really necessary.

I'd be really grateful for any advice as to what to use (the wood is pine by the way). Should I use both as suggested, just the lacquer, just the varnish or scrap both and try and get something else completely? If the latter, do you have any suggestions as to what I should be looking for? Chemical names rather than brand names would be ideal, but I can of course do some more googling if you can only give me brand names.

Thanks in advance for your help.

James