For paint shoppers, this standard is important because children may touch, lick, chew or mouth painted surfaces. A finish tested to EN 71-3 gives reassurance that restricted elements do not migrate from the coating above the limits set by the toy safety standard.
EN 71-3 is especially relevant for projects involving wooden toys, children’s furniture, cot frames, toy boxes, chairs, tables, doors, trims and other painted or finished surfaces used in children’s bedrooms and nurseries.
What Does EN 71-3 Test?
EN 71-3 is a chemical safety test. It looks at whether certain elements can move out of a toy material under test conditions. This will be important to anyone wishing to ensure chemicals harmful to health are not in their living space.
The standard covers migration of elements such as aluminium, antimony, arsenic, barium, boron, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, selenium, strontium, tin and zinc.
Assessment includes:
Migration of restricted elements - The test checks whether controlled elements can be released from the coating.
Child contact risk - The standard is relevant where painted or finished surfaces may be sucked, licked, chewed or handled by children.
Toy material safety - EN 71-3 is part of the wider EN 71 toy safety series used for materials in toys and child related products.
EN 71-3 and DIN 53160
EN 71-3 and DIN 53160 are often mentioned together for toy suitable paints and wood finishes, but they test different things.
EN 71-3 checks the migration of certain elements from toy materials.
DIN 53160 checks colour resistance to saliva and perspiration.
Together, they give a more complete picture for child contact surfaces: EN 71-3 looks at restricted element migration, while DIN 53160 looks at colour transfer during saliva and sweat contact.
Our EN 71-3 Tested Paints and Wood Finishes
AURO
Paints and lacquers
Auro 516 Gloss Paint - Solvent free gloss for interior and exterior wood and metal, useful for furniture, doors, trims and child contact surfaces.
Auro 517 Matt Paint - Matt paint for wood and metal, suited to furniture, doors and lower sheen painted surfaces.
Auro 260 Satin Paint - Satin paint for furniture and wooden surfaces where a durable, wipeable finish is useful.
Wood stains and oils
Auro 160 Woodstain - Solvent free wood stain for interior and exterior timber, suitable for toys, furniture and handled wood surfaces.
Auro 560 Woodstain - Water based woodstain for timber where a breathable protective finish is needed.
Auro 123 PurSolid Hard Oil - Solvent free hard oil for interior wood and cork, including floors and surfaces exposed to heavier wear.
Auro 126 Classic Hard Oil - Natural resin oil finish for interior wood, cork, stone and unglazed clay tiles.
Graphenstone
Graphenstone GrafClean - Washable interior wall paint with good breathability, useful for children’s rooms, family spaces and lower VOC decorating.
