Accidently Painted the inside of New Hive - Now What ???

[Marc L]

I am a newbie and in my over zealous approach to hive maintenance, I stained and put 5 coats of Minwax® Helmsman® Spar Urethane (A protective clear finish topcoat that offers long-lasting protection for interior or exterior wood that is exposed to sunlight, water and temperature changes) on all the wood parts of the hive (inside and out) 4 weeks ago and plan to install a package of bees on Monday 4-21-08. I have since learned I am not supposed to paint the inside. What will happen if I install the bees in my stained and Urethaned hive?? I even sanded between coats which I read makes it too slippery for the bees. Should I sand all the finish off the inside?

[hfrysinger]

I have never done it, but I would rough it up with coarse sand paper, and make sure it was well aired out - place them in the sun outside for a few days. Then I would use them.

[Ross]

wait until it dries and throw some bees in it. They don't have any trouble walking on glass.

[Dave W]

Is Minwax® Helmsman® Spar Urethane approved for "food contact"?

[Ross]

Says it's recommended for bartops and kitchen counter tops.

[Ravenseye]

Use them. Won't be a problem.

[Barry]

I have since learned I am not supposed to paint the inside.

Hehehe, another urban legend. Years ago when I made a whole bunch of woodenware, I painted all sides and edges, inside and out. The bees could care less if it's painted or not. Beekeepers, on the other hand, seem to care.

[honeyman46408]

Hehehe, another urban legend. Years ago when I made a whole bunch of woodenware, I painted all sides and edges, inside and out. The bees could care less if it's painted or not. Beekeepers, on the other hand, seem to care.

I did the same and the bees have been useing them for 8 years now

[Jim Fischer]

In regard to paint on the inside of hives, there is little short-term risk.

The long-term risk depends upon how well the paint was applied.
Peeling paint in "direct food contact" is not a good idea.
Lead based paint would be a worst-case scenario here, and some
hobby beekeepers are still using the same 5-gallon pail of paint they
bought years ago, before the lead ban.

The bees will apply a layer of varnish over time to the inside of the
box, and likely will cover the paint, so the concern would be about
what the condition of the boxes would be in 10 years.

[Joseph Clemens]

Only problem is that the paint on the inside is wasted on the bees, they propolize over it anyways and any nice color the paint may possess goes unobserved in the dark interior and it could have been painted on the outside of another hive.