Which food safe finish do you use?

[Steve Vaughan]

I've recently had several folks asking about some of my bowls being used for tossing salad, etc. The problem is I've never bothered to pay attention to them, cause I don't make anything designed for 'wet' food items. My stuff at this point would only be good for 'dry' foods - fruit, candy, etc.
Can the group give me some info about what you use, it's advantages or disadvantages, etc.? I gonna be looking to go this route with some bowls in order to hopefully capture some of those sales.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Steve I use Mahoney's walnut oil on all mine. Haven't had a problem. All my salad bowls and plates have walnut oil.

[Steve Schlumpf]

We have a guy in our turning club that is a production bowl turner. The only finish he uses is Mahoney's Walnut Oil and swears by it. I haven't turned any utilitarian bowls... but have done a lot of spoons and spatulas. For all my wooden kitchen items I use mineral oil.

[Reed Gray]

I have used Mike's Walnut oil for years. I am switching to Doctor's Woodshop walnut oil because he is an Oregonian, and lives just up, or is it down the freeway. Anyway, he is a chemist, and did a demo for our club, and dumbed it down enough for us to understand. Walnut oil will cure and harden. The oil (both his and Mikes) is heated to the point where the proteins that can cause allergic reactions are supposed to be broken down so there will be no reaction. The curing and hardening process takes about a week. I am not sure about the walnut oil you buy in the grocery stores. The doctor does visit this site, and he can explain it better than I do. He has a number of wipe on walnut oil based finishes as well. It cures so slowly that your shop rags will most likely never catch fire as well, but I don't take chances.

I do not use mineral oil. Main reason is that it does nothing other than make the wood look nice for a day or two, then it is gone. No protection what so ever. I do not use any finish that has chemical hardeners in it. Yes, I know, it is all supposed to evaporate out and you are left with 'inert' materials, but after talking to some one who is sensitive to petrolium distilates, I was informed that it does not all go away. That got me to thinking that why would I put some thing on a wood bowl I was going to eat out of if it was dangerous to me right out of the can. Hmmmmmm.

Vegetable oils do work as well, but they do not cure and harden. They can go sour. Main reason for them going sour is food and gunk build up, or being locked away in a pretty much air tight area. Wood bowls need to be able to breath.

Some people wash with soap and water every time they use their bowls, and oil them as well. I don't. Most of the time I just use a plastic scrubby and water, then dry it off. If there is some oil/food/other unidentified build up on the bowl, then it gets soap and water, or a wedge of lemon or lime and some table salt. Does the same thing.

robo hippy

[Bill Neddow]

Some very good advice from Reed about mineral and vegetable oils. All the clear finishes we would use on salad bowls are now food safe. The lead that was in the finish has been banned. Thus, clear varnishes and polys are OK. The"food safe" finishes made by Behlens and General are simply wipe-on Poly. I do use the Behlens -- but mainly because I like its working characteristics.

[Russell Neyman]

This is a continual debate with one of the art galleries that sells my bowls because it's one thing to be "food safe" and another to be practical. By that, I mean some finishes are just too brittle to stand up to abuse in certain food useage situations. Lacquer, for example, just doesn't seem to last when banged with salad tongs or knives, so I prefer to go with various oil finishes. I like the aforementioned walnut or mineral oil, but for an everyday salad bowl sometimes I just polish with the Beal System and let it go at that. If the piece is going to sit on a table filled with potpourri or candy and nothing wet, I go with wipe on poly or lacquer. Problem is, when you do a bowl on spec, you really don't know what the end user is going to do with it.

[Hayes Rutherford]

Steve, you can't go wrong with Mahoney's walnut oil. I don't recommend submerging the bowls and letting them drain. I tried this for over two years using a plastic tub with oil in it. The disadvantage was oil kept coming out for days and took a long time to cure. Bowls that I had in stock for six months or more didn't really smell that good either. I think just a saturated rag sloshed around inside and out, then go back and wipe off the excess works best. Going through this a second time can add a nice dull glow and the advantages would be it's quick and easy.

Lately, I've been using an oil/wax mix. LaTourangelle roasted walnut oil mixed with bees wax at about 5 or 6:1(in a jar placed in a hot water pot) Its easy to make and to go back and change the proportions is easy. If your batch was too soft upon cooling, heat it back up and add some wax. I smear this stuff on some bowls, then go back and buff it off with a soft cloth. Lots of advantages: simple, quick, food safe(I often cook with this roasted oil and use it on salad as well-has anyone ever sauteed fish with Mahoney's?) sets up quick, nice glow. The real advantage is the wonderful aroma it has. If I am not busy at a show, I apply some to a couple of bowls and the aroma has been a good selling point.

Disadvantages are I'm probably giving up on some protection by not applying oil directly and more heavily. Richard Raffan typically sloshes on the oil and immediately follows up with the bees wax and a rag, but I like using a vacuum chuck on the bare wood, then apply finish off the lathe.

[Noah Barfield]

I've been using the Doctor's Woodshop finishes for the past year. After meeting him and talking with him at length at the Seattle Woodcraft expo, I switched over from Renaissance Wax. Even if all of the VOCs evaporate out (thus keeping customers, relatives, etc. safe), I'd still be exposed to them. With the Doctor's Woodshop products, I don't have to worry about VOCs.

Noah

[Jason Ritchie]

I use Mahoney's Walnut Oil finish followed up with Mahoney's wax almost exclusively. I prefer a softer more natural finish on my bowls and the Mahoney's fits the bill perfectly. It even softens your hands after working with it. My tips to getting a nice finish are:

1) I sand to 600 grit on the lathe using Klingspor's cloth backed sandpaper. Say what you will but this is the best stuff I have ever used and you can buy it by the pound out of their scrap bins.
2) Once the bowl is off the lathe I hand rub it with Micromesh at least half way through the grits and most of the time all the way. I don't really sand with it but more rub or polish the surface.
3) Pour some Mahoney's Walnut Oil in the bottom of the bowl and use a paper towel to spread it around. Keep moving it over areas that soak it up quickly.
4) Apply several more quick coats moving the now saturated paper towel back to trouble areas that soak up the oil quickly.
5) Let sit over night.
6) Apply one more light coat of oil and let it sit for a while. (Few minutes to an hour)
7) Take a dry paper towel and wipe off any excess (usually there is none) and sort of buff all around the bowl.
8) Apply a coat of Mahoney's Wax and let set for at least an hour per the instructions on the tub. It does seem to work best letting it set for at least an hour.
9) Buff the bowl with a paper towel and repeat you you like. I usually add more coat.

* If you find that you got too much oil on and the bowl feels oily then wrap it in paper towels and place it in a warm window seal or other very warm place.
I hope you find these tip useful and if you find any improvements to these tips let us know. Different woods will behave differently with the oil but I have had excellent luck with Maple, Spalted Maple, Walnut, Osage Orange, Redbud, Beech, and Oak.

[Jon Lanier]

All finishes are 'food safe.' As soon as they are completely dry and are inert. I would also say that any 'nut' finish is not always safe... you may be be selling a bowl to someone with 'nut' allergies.

[Steve Vaughan]

Everyone, thank you so much for the info and pointers. And, Jon, you're right. I understand that, and I guess I was really asking more about the finish that withstands wet food item's vs. dry food items, i.e., say a large bowl that would be great for a salad to be tossed in vs. a simple fruitbowl.
But having said that, all of you have been a huge help with this.

One more follow-up question - So let's say I use one of these finishes that you're mentioning here, the walnut oil, or the Doctor's oil, or a simple oil and wax finish. What do you recommend that folks do to 'restore' the finish, say after 6 months, or a year, or two. A wipe of mineral oil? Thanks again!

[Ted Calver]

Steve,
Here's what my bowl instruction sheet says. It works for me.

• This bowl is intended to be used….to serve salad, pasta, fruit, popcorn …you decide. After use, hand wash in warm soapy water, rinse clean and wipe dry immediately. Prolonged exposure to moisture will destroy the bowl. Never soak the bowl in water, let it sit in water or wash it in the dish washer. Do not use it in the microwave. Store upright to permit air circulation. If it seems a little rough, use half a lemon to scrub a teaspoon of salt around the bowl. It will smooth it and purify it at the same time.

• Once every few months, or whenever the wood looks really dry, reapply a revitalization cream made by carefully warming four parts Mahoney’s Utility Finish (Polymerized Walnut Oil (available from Woodcraft)) and one part beeswax (by volume) gently in a wide mouth glass container in the microwave or double boiler until the beeswax melts. Let cool. A thin coat of the resulting paste buffed in with a soft cloth will keep your bowl looking good and help repel moisture. The polymerization process destroys the enzymes that cause nut allergies…there have been no reported allergy problems with this finish. With proper care it will last for generations…pass it along.

[Reed Gray]

I never treat my personal bowl after the first time. It really doesn't need it. My first bowl was eastern ash, and was snow white when new. Now, it is an amber color, stained by all the different foods I have eaten in it. Blue berry syrup leaves a purple stain, bar-b-que sauce leaves that reddish color, etc. Some people wash and oil every time they use their bowls.

There are surface finishes, like lacquers, and some of the water based finishes. Fine for art pieces, but never on a utility bowl. They will always, eventually crack, chip, or peel off, and look terrible.

Will this bowl go through the dishwasher? Yes, but only once.

Also, do not use it in the refrigerator.

robo hippy

[Steve Vaughan]

Ted & Reed, thank you for that info - very, very helpful! This place rocks for it's inspiration and info!

[Tony Shaftel]

All my bowls and cutting boards go to relatives and friends. I use mineral oil followed by a mineral oil and beeswax mixture a la Richard Raffan. I mention to wipe with a damp cloth to clean, and wipe some mineral oil on now and then. This has worked very well on the one I gave to my wife years ago. What I like about this protocol is that, if they follow it, it forms a partnership between the piece and the owner. Kind of like owning an old British sports car ha ha.