Painted/stained shelves and displaying toys

[lordalexander74]

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Eventually those shelves will get stained. What would y'all do to prevent stains from transferring onto toys? My parents have this clear contact paper they use in their kitchen cupboards, which I'll consider, and am wondering if there's other options.
Thanks

lordalexander74

[toyjunky]

In the past I had light pine shelves with a clear type coat stain that were bought from stores (very long wall shelves bought in the late 90's). I didn't have ponies on them, but other plastic and PVC type toys and doll boxes. I never experienced the shelf staining transfer to the toys, however I did have a couple toys transfer color/sticky to the shelf. This was more than likely due to being left in one place for very long periods of time without being moved (months at a time and if removed to dust returned to the same place, and they stayed that way for years), as well as the toy itself had started to get sticky/tacky in addition to not being in an air conditioned house.

Personally, and this is just my opinion, I would stay clear of any contact paper or plastic shelf liners (depending on material and flexibility) because your putting different plastics with more plastics and the softer a plastic is the more plasticizer it has.

[Minty_Magic]

Hmmm I can’t speak for ponies but I stained a record crate about two years ago and I’ve never noticed the stain transferring from the crate onto any of my album sleeves. I think as long as you let the stain properly dry and set it shouldn’t transfer!

If you want to be extra safe could you finish the stained shelves with a wood finish like shellac? I have one piece of furniture that I stained and finished with shellac and it’s held up quite well! It’s smooth to the touch with a light gloss, but nothing sits on it, so I can’t provide any insight on if stuff sticks to it or if it transfers to plastics.

[BlackCurtains]

When I stained my shelves it had a semi glossy top coat in it. It was an all-in-one. The wood stain didn't transfer to my ponies at all, but some of my ponies got stuck to the top coat. Nothing transferred when I was able to pull them off. I should mention I live in a very hot and humid climate and my room was the hottest one in the house, plus my ponies sat on those shelves for years, some never being picked up.

[Artemesia's Garden]

Soft plastic can react very easily with stains and finishes. I had items go sticky in the past when I was a kid and had bedroom furniture made of a kind of plastic coated chip board. Shellac is a cool idea, because it's a natural product it might be better for collectibles. I'd be interested to know.

On the other hand, I know that customisers use acrylic paints and varnishes quite a bit and they dont seem to react badly with ponies as far as I know. I've used it to seal customs and it's been fine for 5 years. Maybe an acrylic varnish would be OK?

I put my ponies on white acid free tissue paper wrapped around a card to make it neat and fit the shelf. I do tend to go a bit overboard with conservation technique and would rather my display looked frumpy than take a risk.

[Leave a Whisper]

Maybe put down some decorative cloth

[toyjunky]

When I stained my shelves it had a semi glossy top coat in it. It was an all-in-one. The wood stain didn't transfer to my ponies at all, but some of my ponies got stuck to the top coat. Nothing transferred when I was able to pull them off. I should mention I live in a very hot and humid climate and my room was the hottest one in the house, plus my ponies sat on those shelves for years, some never being picked up.

Similar weather to you, just not as humid. My shelves covered almost an entire wall (they were adjustable, so I had them set at very specific heights). I had about 75 doll boxes on them as well as about a hundred plastic toys and figures of various sizes. Since it was such a massive display I only deep cleaned it twice a year where I removed EVERYTHING. Other wise it just got a quick duster over it. Sometimes a few might be momentarily stuck, but came off with a gentle pull. The same thing happens though with glass or other ceramics if items are never moved for long periods of time. There is an open (no doors) corner shelf built into my parents kitchen and it is filled with all this old glass and ceramics from my grandmother and great grandmothers, etc. It rarely gets a thorough cleaning, usually just a quick once over with a duster (you have to use a tall step ladder to get to it). Every few years it gets a deep clean and all the glass gets taken down and hand washed (if the piece can stand it) and then returned. Usually when we do that many pieces are "stuck" to the shelves (these are painted wood) and just require a gentle tug.

[Gator]

I added a bookshelf that was recently painted white.  Everything seems to stick that I put on it. I dont know if this will get better with time/age, but I was afraid it would hurt my Basic Fun ponies in their boxes, so I put down a layer of wax or parchment paper(used in baking).

[lordalexander74]

So paper or cloth is a safer bet. Mom's got a roll of padded paper used to wrap frames/whatever when moving. It's not very thick, should work out. These shelves aren't getting worked on for some time, I'm just thinking ahead.

Thanks for the tips y'all.