Hi everyone.
New here and relatively new to turning. Been turning for a few years on an old Delta from the 1930's, mainly in trial and error mode. Trying to learn what I can to improve.
Wondering what folks would recommend for a workhorse finish for basic utility bowls. Looking for something food safe and good for daily use bowls around the house.
I've seen many mentions of "Tried and True" but realizing they have multiple products. From their site, it sounds like any might be good for bowls, but wondering if either the Danish Oil or the Original would be better (meaning easier to use/apply and holds up better with general use). Or is there is something else y'all would recommend?
Thanks in advance
Ive used Tried & True products and I like them a lot. They work very nicely for bowl finishes (where they should be food safe) - Tried and True Varnish is, if you read their website info, a polymerized linseed oil with a Pine Resin to give it a little more hardness and shine - Tried & True Original is a mix of the same Polymerized Linseed oil and natural Beeswax - This stuff is a great top finish, but not necessarily conducive to adding other finish over top (due to the wax content) and finally the Tried & True danish oil is just pure Polymerized Linseed oil - Of the three, Danish oil will have the quickest results from the time it is finished to the time it is use-ready - Original can take a week or two for *each coat* to fully cure , and depending on how thick you coated it in the first place, possibly longer - The thinner you coat them , the quicker the cure so, multiple thin coats will result in a cured finish a lot quicker - and by "Thin" I mean barely enough to dampen the wood - if you slather on a whole bunch, it is way too thick (A pint can can finish several hundred bowls - My original pint can, which I STILL have and haven't used up yet, has finished over 100 small to medium bowls to date)
A lot may depend on how patient you can be to present a finished bowl - If you don't consider it a problem to lay on a thin coat (and buff it out, and gently roughen surface with scotch-brite pad equivalent to 4-Ought (0000) Steel wool (I'd rather not use steel wool on wood) once a week over 4 to 6 weeks (4-6 coats) before calling a bowl "finished" , then Tried and True may suit very nicely, but if you need a "one and done" finish then probably a commercial walnut oil, salad bowl finish (or no finish at all - Antique bowls never HAD a finish applied to them, it was just the raw wood, you can get a surprisingly nice polish and sheen by using lathe shavings as a final "sanding" buff/burnish) might do better for you. All really depends on your level of patience (and whether you can convince someone an "unfinished" bowl is finished.. although one could just as easily apply some Mineral oil from the drug aisle of your local dollar store - it is sold as a laxative - and use that as a "sorta" water-resistant (there ain't no completely waterproof finishes for wood, unless you count epoxy resin, maybe)
There really ISN'T any good reliable finish that holds up against kitchen use (and washing) - it eventually needs maintenance (aforementioned mineral oil, or use beeswax or canning paraffin or a combination of those, or re-coat with more tried & true, for example) Most wood spoons (even the cheap ones you find in dollar store) have NO finish at all to them for that reason - a coat of oil or wax can help keep it from absorbing food stains and odors, if rinsed right away , but if left to sit in dirty dishwater or used saucepans, etc (and for bowls, leaving leftovers to sit in them for extended periods) , no matter what finish (even a varnish or polyurethane) - the food odors and moisture (and colors) will eventually absorb into the wood itself.... So Wood utensils and bowls are quite useful, can be nice to have, but they DO require rather abit more maintenance effort than your typical modern kitchenware.
