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salad bowl finishes

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Frank Bortle

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I am computer illiterate , can't spell , and type one-fingered. Please offer advice for finishing mesquite salad bowls that will receive daily use. I have never tried to participate in any forum and will try to find your replies. Thanks.
 
Hi Frank

I use several finishes for salad bowls and cutting boards, they include nothing, sunflower oil and Behlen's salad bowl finish.

I like sunflower, it won't turn rancid, it's cheap and easily available (local supermarket) can be easily renewed by the end user, doesn't give the problems that some finishes give when subject to vinegar, water and other substances, such as clouding, peeling, etc. I apply a few coats and sometimes buff with the beall system.

Hope this helps,
Mike
 
Frank,
Welcome to the forum! Just jump right in, as there is a lot to be learned here. Your typing and spelling look just fine from here, and if you do make a "mistake", nobody cares. It's about woodturning.
 
Welcome to the forum Frank. One nice thing about the forum software we are using is that it lets you go back and edit if you make a mistake. (Of course the mistake part is only hypothetical). :cool2:
 
There is a salad bowl finish called "Salad Bowl Finish" which is probably the best. Whatever you use, it should be a drying penetrating oil. Don't use mineral oil which doesn't dry. Also do not use film finishes because they do not penetrate and will crack and flake with use. Another good one is walnut oil because of the great smell, but it is not quite as good as Salad Bowl Finish.

Bill
 
I use mineral oil or a paste made from mineral oil and beeswax melted together...and it works just fine. I give a couple coats and then wipe clean. I have never had any trouble whatsoever. I use mineral oil because it is probably the easiest to find for those who end up with my bowls. Much easier for them to touch up and re-oil themselves.
 
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The "finish" on a salad bowl will be the user's choice of salad oil. This, and how it's washed and stored, is what will make the difference in smell and durability no matter what you put on it initially. What you can do is make the bowl out of close-grained wood - hard or soft makes little difference, so long as it doesn't have big caves in it for neglected bacteria chow to hide in.

Behlen's, when I used it, was a tung-based "Danish oil" finish. Surface finishes, regardless of how fast they build, are going to show scratches and chips. I use Wipe-On Poly from Minwax, abrading away any surface shininess after it sets. Two coats is fine. Makes it more difficult for the salad oil to penetrate to the level where it can have a partially cured thickness to stink.

For popcorn bowls I use walnut oil, because their final finish, once again, is user oil. Don't want a film finish, because the old maids can blister it. Two thin coats, well-wiped, seem enough. Keep in open air as the oil cures.
 
I'm one of those mineral oil guys. Completely nonreactive, cheap, easy to wash. This will give the piece a matte/wet finish so don't use it if you're aiming for shiny. I wash it by putting in a handful of kosher salt, dampening it, and scrubbing with the resulting paste. Quick rinse and ready to go.

Dietrich
 
Only finish I use for food-use bowls in mineral oil cooked with some parafin. Person who gets the bowl also gets a little plastice thingy of the mix that works to resist most (but not all) staining better that oil alone.

ANY film finish, whether solvent or "penetrating/drying" oils based will fail and eventually start to chip, flake, or peel off and the piece will look like ****.

Also recommend the salt-wash rub as it has been used for centuries to successfully sanitize wood cutting boards.

M
 
salt wash rub

Question for Mark,
What is the salt wash rub? Also anybody. What does expellar process mean on the Walnut Oil you buy from the supermarket? My method for the finishing of salad bowls is the Walnut Oil and I tell the customer to refrigerate the Walnut Oil that I give them.
Greg
 
A salt wash rub is pretty simple. When it comes time to wash out your salad bowl after use, just pour a good handful of kosher salt into the bottom, add just enough water to dampen it, and rub it around with your hand or a cloth or sponge. This does an excellent job of cleaning through several processes. First, it is a mild abrasive and scrubs well. Second, the kosher salt will break the bond (ionic?) of the oils from garlic, onion, fish, etc so that flavors don't stick in the bowl. Third, the high salt level works pretty good in making the bowl a poor medium for mold and bacteria. Also, the leftover salt won't affect the flavor of the next salad like soap can if it soaks in.

Only thing, if you've used a filming finish the salt will likely scratch it. I only use mineral oil in my salad bowls so this isn't an issue. I'd imagine it would work fine for any non or semipolymerizing oil finish (walnut, sunflower, canola, etc).

As to the walnut oil, there are several threads out there that discuss it in some detail so do a search and they should answer that question pretty well.
 
Greg Kaldor said:
Question for Mark,
What is the salt wash rub? Also anybody. What does expellar process mean on the Walnut Oil you buy from the supermarket? My method for the finishing of salad bowls is the Walnut Oil and I tell the customer to refrigerate the Walnut Oil that I give them.
Greg
Click to expand...

Greg,

Butchers have, for centuries, probably longer, used moistened salt to scrub their cutting blocks. The salt acts, the very same way as it does for ham and other preserved meats, as a preservative and creates a very high brine enviornment on the wood surface that prevents the growth of any mold and bacteria that are likely to be present. The salt crystals also act like abrasives to remove meat fibers from the wood's grain. In fact, most local health codes used to (and may still) require restaurants and meat markets using "porous" cutting surfaces (read wood) to use a daily salt rub. The salt was often left on the boards overnight and then simply rinsed off the next day before work started.

"Expellar" means cold pressing and/or mechanical means to extract the oil. Other method is solvent extraction that "washes" the oil out of the nutmeal. Probably a good idea to refrigerate, but tell them to warm a small portion before applying for better penetration.

M
 
What I like to do for finish on a salad bowl is similar. The first coat I flood finish with Behlens Salad Bowl Finish (now made by General Finishes?) and let it dry overnight. I may apply a second coat as per the directions. What I want is for the Behlens to provide a barrier. I drys hard as a film finish, but will seal the wood. It would not provide an adequate moisture barrier for prolonged submersion in dishwater, but works well otherwise. I will usually sand with 400 lightly before proceeding to the next step.

For a satin finish, I will do several coats of Claphams salad bowl (beeswax). It is very easy to renew and if the bowl is sold or a gift, I would include a 3oz can with it.

If you want a glossy finish, put on 5-6 additional coats of the salad bowl finish and go through a sanding regime as if it were lacquer. Start at 600-800 and go through 2000+ then buff with carnauba. It will be sparkling and is surprisingly durable. We have had some that way for years, but we don't use knives in your salad bowls. Cut through the finish and it's the beginning of the end for the finish.
 
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