Edible Finishes

[mrGeeze]

Ok
I Don't really want to eat(drink) the stuff.
Just want the finish on my salad bowls to last more than 1 night.
Currently I use mineral oil then buff with the Beall system.
Looks great till I wash the bowl after dinner. Then its pretty much bare wood.

I am trying Watco & WaterLox on a few bowls. I'm a little concerned about any not so good for you drying agents that might be left behind.

What do others use to build an "edible" finish on salad bowls.

Thanks,

 

[woodwish]

I sat through Mike Mahoney's demo at the symposium, and although he is a great turner in many areas I think he claims to be a utilitarian bowl turner. All of his bowls are meant to be used and he says not to put any finish on them, and that through use they will get enough oil in them. He also realizes that most folks won't do that. He suggests any finish that will soak in, like mineral oil, and actually sells a walnut oil just that purpose (has something in it that makes it work better than off-the-shelf walnut oil I guess). I also use a Beall system on mine but finally figured out that it uses a wax finish and wax will not hold up to moisture.

If you want a shiny gallery look there are lots of options, but none of them will hold up in a bowl that is actually used for it's intended purpose. Around our house we have some showy bowls that do nothing but collect dust and look nice. Then we also have plenty of nice durable bowls with just an oil finish. Probably some saying here like "can't have your cake and eat it too" would apply. Just put on a nice oil finish and enjoy I think is best. 😱

 

[4mikee]

I'm not certain but walnut oil may be kin to peanut oil in that there may be allergies to consider. Anyone know?

 

[Brian Hahn]

I've used Behlen's "Salad Bowl Finish". It's a wipe-on varnish-type finish and takes multiple coats to build a good surface layer. It holds up well to normal use and hand washing (no dishwashers please!). I have one bowl that saw almost daily use for 10 years and the finish is still sound. I think I got the finish from Woodcraft, but I can't find it in their current catalog.

 

[Steve Worcester]

I've used Behlen's "Salad Bowl Finish". It's a wipe-on varnish-type finish and takes multiple coats to build a good surface layer. It holds up well to normal use and hand washing (no dishwashers please!). I have one bowl that saw almost daily use for 10 years and the finish is still sound. I think I got the finish from Woodcraft, but I can't find it in their current catalog.

The finish is also available from General Finishes.
I have been using this for years and it works real well. Personally I think it is a pain to apply and get a smooth coat, so I end up having to sand between coats and after about 10 coats, sand an buff. It is a high gloss finish, food safe but real low build.

An alternative is to use a few coats as a barrier and then a salad bowl wax or equivalent as the renewable finish.

 

[Martin Braun]

I have used Mike Mahoney's finish for salad bowls. It's nice to apply, and it looks great but it doesn't hold up very long to hand washing. It is good if you have objects that are not going to be used for food, but may get chewed on by the young 'uns. I haven't tried the General Finishes Salad bowl finish, but my brother will be, so I'll find out from him how it works 🙂 .

 

[Richard Baker]

Any opinions on vegetable oil?

 

[Brian Hahn]

Any opinions on vegetable oil?

It turns rancid, often within a few months. Olive oil seems to stay "good" the longest, but I've had it go rancid after a year or so.

Mineral oil is about the only "edible" oil that won't turn rancid.

 

[MichaelMouse]

I Don't really want to eat(drink) the stuff.
Just want the finish on my salad bowls to last more than 1 night.

Perception versus reality on two levels here.

First yours. If you use it it will trash. Of course most people realize that even a steel bowl scratches, so they're not really that concerned. When the few who don't realize this instinctively express their concern, I say that they can't avoid scratching even a hard maple bowl with cherry forks, so it's going to look lived in.

Second, for the ones who get their scares and science from TV. No finish is safe under the wrong conditions, even no finish. All are benign, used properly, but trying to convince someone who thinks not is impossible. I'm a walnut oil user, also poly. Neither is as "dangerous" as aunt Martha's unwashed hand, especially after she sneezes. Non-curing oils are a touch worse if anything, than curing finishes. When they're visible they also collect lipid-loving things on the surface for possible extraction into the lettuce.

Two coats of thinned poly is a good choice, in my opinion. Third might build, so two's my limit. I scuff them off so they present an even scatter on the surface. Alternate is walnut oil, with coat two applied after a week. It cures slowly, and I don't care to trap partially cured -rancid- oil under fresh. Two weeks to market, so people won't leave greasy prints in it when handling at a show.

I tell folks that the final finish on a salad or popcorn bowl is the oil they use in salad or popcorn, not what I have on it, and that the key to keeping oil from smelling rancid is not to nest the wooden bowl with the others, but leave it open to the air so it can oxidize fully. A wipe with vinegar on a rag is a pretty good prep for salad-making.

 

[Andy Coates]

oil finishes

I only ever use vegetable oil on bowls for daily food use.

If you allow it to soak in really well, and then buff, it seems a good enough finish. The bowl will pick up oils from the foodstuffs anyway, and over time will patinate to a lovely warm lustre.

I don't see the point in buying expensive finishes that, in the end, are only as effective as a vegetable oil anyway.

Andy

 

[Mort]

I have read that any finish is food safe, just don't eat the wood.

I use beeswax dissolved in Gum turpentine as a salad bowl finish and buff with brown paper bag - a la Rus Faircloth - also I inform customers the finish is not forever. I have for display a mahogany salad bowl used by my family for 60 years that has developed a lovely patina from all of the olive oil and vinegar that has touched it.

The turpentine flashes off after several days. As gum turpentine is made from wood the salad bowl wood will absord the turpentine drawing some of the beeswax into the wood.