Salad Bowl Question

[Dan Oliphant]

Even though I have been turning for some time, this is my first salad bowl for sale at an up comming festival. The bowl is sycamore, and will have a mineral oil finish. Can mineral oil be buffed to a shine and if so what would the time line be after coating plus the sequence for buffing?????

Thanks for any constructive input.

 

[Rob Wallace]

Dan:

My understanding is that mineral oil is a non-drying (or "semi-drying") oil and will not take buffing or polishing very well, even if an extended time is given, since this oil will never "cure". To form a dried, polymerized finish that will take buffing, etc., you should use another kind of oil that will "dry" (polymerize), such as walnut, tung, or linseed. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drying_oil

...for an explanation of drying oils.

I have never used mineral oil on a utility bowl for that reason, so I don't know if any applied wax finishes would remain gummy or soft over a mineral oil application. I have used Mike Mahoney's walnut oil-based finish with success, it can be buffed to a nice sheen.

Perhaps others have been down the mineral oil - buffing road that you are proposing....??

Rob Wallace

 

[Dan Oliphant]

Thanks for the response Rob, I guess I was brain dead there for a while, totally forgot about tung and linseed oils. What touch up advise would you give a customer if I use one of these?

 

[Bill Pottorf]

Dan, I just used Mike Mahoney's walnut oil and wax/oil finishing on a cored set. They turned out great and the oil does dry due to special blending. I would recommend you get some from Craft Supplies or from Mike's site www.bowlmakerinc.com. Great Stuff!
Bill

 

[Ed_McDonnell]

I would not use boiled linseed oil or the Tung Oil "Finishes" (that include a lot of other stuff than tung oil). They are very likely to have metallic drying agents and would not be good for use on something that would have contact with food.

Ed

 

[Gretch Flo]

Mineral oil caution

I used to use min oil for "finish"-on some woods (SPALTED BEECH, WALNUT) if I put many coats on to get a nice sheen, it wouLd later bleed with heat or sunshine . On a lamp I gave to a friend the base discolored the wooden table it set on (I was distraught!!!). This did not seem to be a problem when I use mineral oil for a couple of grits of "wet sanding" while still on the lathe. It also seems to help prevent cracking on partially green woods. After wood dries I use danish with or without walnut oil. Gretch

 

[Bernie Weishapl]

I use Minwax Antique oil or General Finishes Seal-A-Cell followed by Arm-R-Seal. I also use Mahoney's walnut oil. I have had excellent luck with the above. I e-mailed Ernie Conover after reading his book. He uses nothing but Antique Oil on his utility turnings. He said all finishes are food safe after a minimum of 72 hrs of drying. Most times I let mine dry for 2 or more weeks.

 

[S. Clark]

What touch up advise would you give a customer if I use one of these?

If a salad bowl is really used as such by the customer, it will not remain shiny no matter what finish you apply. Eventually the surface will be scuffed dull. I like to finish them with Danish oil followed by mineral oil after the Danish is fully cured. “Touchup†simply means preservation when it comes to a utility item like this. The customer should be told not to wash it in a dishwasher or soak the bowl in dishwater for extended periods. Hand wash and towel dry immediately; then let stand to air dry. Occasionally re-oil when the wood looks and feels dry. “Occasionally†depends on how often it is used. I do my kitchen bowls once or twice a month. They should understand that the wood will darken and change its overall appearance with time and use too.

- Scott

 

[MichaelMouse]

Lots of the tired old responses keep coming up, but for what it's worth, CURED common finishes using oils and resins are all safe for incidental contact with food. http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/21cfrv3_03.html in case you want to see what those folks in the business of food rather than wood believe. Mineral oil is not a finish in the traditional sense. It's a lubricating oil. When it lubricates your intestines, it's a medication. It also collects dust and oil soluble detritus when it's on the surface. As Gretch notes, even when you can't see it, it's just a sunlit quarter hour away.

If people toss the salad with dressing in the bowl, they'll load it with their type of salad oil. If they toss it for dressing on the side, you want water resistance. Even with my salad spinner a mineral oiled bowl will raise grain. I use wiping poly, but stop and scuff when it starts to shine on the surface. Gives great water resistance but doesn't chip. If the bowl is also popcorn suitable, walnut oil is my choice. Not as good, but the hot kernels won't raise any bubbles, either. Don't buy the oil with the preservatives! They keep it fresh for a long time, so it stays fluid. Mahoney claims to heat his oils to the point where the proteins are denatured to keep allergies at bay. 160 for five minutes will do it, and thicken the stuff a bit to boot. Solvent extracted (non health-food) oils, as are used in Paint and over in the EU don't have proteins needing denaturing.

I tell people to store their salad bowls open to the air to keep any oil they add from becoming partially oxidized (rancid) and to wipe it out with vinegar prior to use to kill bacteria. Wouldn't hurt to remind some not to ever soak it, either.

 

[Dan Oliphant]

Thanks for the responses folks, I really hesitated on making the post at all because of the "food safe" discussion that always pops up, but all in all, good discussion.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I like walnut oil. Like tung and linseed oils, it catalyzes into a solid finish. You can get walnut oil at places that sell woodturning supplies for $$$ or you can get it at the grocery store (on the same aisle where they sell cooking oil) for $. Mineral oil is a petroleum byproduct of producing gasoline from crude oil. It has been in the ground for eons and hasn't dried yet, so don't expect it to dry on your salad bowl either.