Does Mineral Oil "Dry"?

[Jim Eller]

After reading the pros and cons of salad bowl finish, I bought some mineral oil today. I put some on a piece of glueup I had of an endgrain cutting board. Twelve hours later it is still "wet" and smeary(if that's a word).

I'm afraid to put it on a cutting board if it never drys.

I also noticed it made the maple turns yellowish.

Are these normal conditions with mineral oil finish?

Jim

[John Karam]

I believe mineral oil tends to stay "wet" so to speak. What is supposed to happen is the grain absorbs the oil and what is left you should wipe off. I made a maple cutting board (which all the oil finishes I've used on maple has turned it yellowish) before and let it soak in the mineral oil for the whole day actually...in a "pool" of it. I wiped it off over and over again for a couple days I think because the oil was bleeding out of it but now its fine. I wouldn't call it dry dry but it isnt a wet issue either.

hope that helps

[Bill Huber]

I have not read the cons to salad bowl finish, what are they?

I have made 30 boards and have used the Wood Whisperer's formula, 50% salad bowl finish and 50% Mineral Spirits.

I put it on very heavy on the top side until it comes though the back, then turn it over and do the back. Turn it back over and wipe off the excess and let it set for a day. The put another coat on both sides and wipe off the excess, let is set a day and then put a final top coat on.

After setting for a day I put a coat of mineral oil and bee's wax on and then buff it down. I give a small jar of mineral oil and bee's wax to the person with the board.



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[Jim Becker]

Mineral oil does not dry. If you have a lot of it laying on top, then just wipe it off. You let it soak in for a bit and wipe away the excess. Mineral oil should also be re-applied periodically as it will "go away" from normal handling and cleaning. Don't use soap when cleaning the pieces...it will very quickly get rid of the oil. Just rinse with water and dry.

[Jim Eller]

Bill,


I'm sure there are all kinds of other "opinions". Most subjects are like politicians, both sides are always right and they can prove it :)

Jim

[Dan Edminster]

Mineral oil is by no means a permanent finish. It needs to be reapplied frequently to rejuvenate its protective qualities. I have to differ from Jim's advice about washing the board, though. You should always wash cutting boards with dishwashing detergent (antibacterial is best) and warm water, then dry them with a clean towel or paper towels. Repeated washings will remove some of the oil finish, but that's the nature of the beast - you just reapply as needed. If the board gets occasional use, a monthly application might suffice; if the board is used daily, you might need to perform a weekly application. Poor ware-washing is an open invitation for foodborne illness and wooden cutting boards are the perfect place to harbor bacteria if not handled properly. I could ramble on about cross contamination and other related issues - I have 15 years in the restaurant business, but we'll save that for another discussion.

[Jim Becker]

Dan, you're correct that contamination can be an issue, depending on how the board is used. I sometimes forget that I only cut veggies on our board...never meats...and am quite comfortable with just rinsing it off. In fact, it's been a long time since I even put mineral oil on it...our soapstone counters get oiled much more frequently.

Oh, and welcome to SMC, Dan!!

[Corey Wilcox]

After reading the pros and cons of salad bowl finish, I bought some mineral oil today. I put some on a piece of glueup I had of an endgrain cutting board. Twelve hours later it is still "wet" and smeary(if that's a word).

I'm afraid to put it on a cutting board if it never drys.

I also noticed it made the maple turns yellowish.

Are these normal conditions with mineral oil finish?

Jim

Jim,

I am having the very same situation right now with some cutting boards I made up. I typically use a linseed based butcher block oil, but this time went with mineral oil instead and am somewhat regretting it. I'm curious to hear if this situation every improved for you or will I need to wrap the cutting boards in flour sacks before giving them for Christmas? :)

Bill,

Would you be willing to share your recipe for the beeswax/mineral oil finish you referred to in your post? Specificially, how did you keep the beeswax dissolved in the mineral oil? I've only ever used turpentine to dissolve beeswax and I think that would not make a very nice cutting board finish unless you were someone who enjoyed a nice meal of pine boughs every now and then.

Thanks in advance!

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

NO. It slowly soaks in and disappears.
Eventually it'll be non greasy. Rub it off with a paper towel and give it a week or so.

[Mike McCann]

You should check out the woodwhisper site on finishing the cutting boards he gives the pros and cons of a bunch of different finishes and also a ratio for mineral oil and wax combo.

[Jim Podsedly]

Jim,

I am having the very same situation right now with some cutting boards I made up. I typically use a linseed based butcher block oil, but this time went with mineral oil instead and am somewhat regretting it. I'm curious to hear if this situation every improved for you or will I need to wrap the cutting boards in flour sacks before giving them for Christmas? :)

Bill,

Would you be willing to share your recipe for the beeswax/mineral oil finish you referred to in your post? Specificially, how did you keep the beeswax dissolved in the mineral oil? I've only ever used turpentine to dissolve beeswax and I think that would not make a very nice cutting board finish unless you were someone who enjoyed a nice meal of pine boughs every now and then.

Thanks in advance!


Corey,

I put some mineral oil in a bowl and then shave off some beeswax into it. I then heat it in the microwave. The beeswax will melt into the oil and then the mixture is wiped onto the boards.

It takes a few days to cure. I usually let them sit for 3 days or so and then take a paper towel and wipe them down before sending them off as presents.

Jim

[Corey Wilcox]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll be frantically mopping my cutting boards over the next several days trying to get them to "dry up" before the big day. My father always said that no woodworking project could truly be considered a Christmas present unless you used a hair dryer to dry the finish in time. :D

[Kent Follmer]

I like walnut oil on my end grain boards then wax. Walnut oil is unique in that it forms a hard finish unlike mineral oil.

I have read that a good way to sanitize a board is to spray a little bit of white vinegar on it occassionally. Are there any thoughts about that?

[Eddie Darby]

I like walnut oil on my end grain boards then wax. Walnut oil is unique in that it forms a hard finish unlike mineral oil.

I have read that a good way to sanitize a board is to spray a little bit of white vinegar on it occassionally. Are there any thoughts about that?

I've heard of salt being used on butchers blocks to keep the little beasties from taking over the joint. Salt removes free available moisture that is needed for propagation.
If wood is full of mineral oil or any other oil, it's job is to displace moisture, so the beasties don't get a foot hold.

[ROBERT ELLIS]

Jim,

I've been a furniture maker for several years (on and off full time) and have recently switched to making cutting boards to sell. I've experimented with various techniques such as walnut oil and salad bowl finish. As someone stated the walnut oil will dry faster and actually harden to a finish if you follow the instructions on the bottle. It was okay as far as the results. I also liked the salad bowl finish but it was too time consuming for me as I'm trying to keep production time down.

After reading an artical by Bob Flexner in Woodwork magazine, he basically states empatically all finishes are foodsafe when they are completely dry. If you can find this article it is in my opinion the best 3-4 page info on finishes (along with some eye opening info) that you'll ever read in such a short treatise. One thing I remember that was very helpful is that Salad Bowl finish is nothing more than Varnish and (Best I remember) Mineral Spirits mixed about half and half. Obviously the manufacturers don't won't you to know this. A word of caution, please read the article before you do any mixing up your own concoction, because I'm shooting from the hip about his article and it's been months since I have read it.

As a result of his article I now use pure tung oil mixed 1 part tung oil to 3-4 parts mineral spirits. Make sure to have it thinned properly as I learned the hard way by not thinning it enough. For me this is the easiest and quickest way I have found to get the desired results. I put in on by hand (no rag), rub it in, let set for 10-15 minutes and wipe off with a clean cloth. It dries pretty much overnight (and sometimes less), and brings out the colors in the woods nicely with just a slight yellowing in woods like maple.

If you need for me to I can try to find the article, but it may take several days because of an illness in my imediate family.

Hope this helps,

Robert

[Dan Forman]

If wood is full of mineral oil or any other oil, it's job is to displace moisture, so the beasties don't get a foot hold.

What I have heard about this is that UNFINISHED wood tends to kill bacteria by absorbing moisture from them, and that any sort of finish will inhibit this ability, and make it more likely that bacterial can survive and reproduce.

Dan

[Charlie Plesums]

After the legislators declared wood cutting boards unsafe, and required all commercial joints to switch to plastic cutting boards, a University did a study of bacteria on used cutting boards. The found the plastic boards were very unsafe... that the tiny scratches left by the knives were a great incubator for bacteria. The old fashioned wood cutting boards were practically germ free. When I read the study they had not (yet) proved their theory that the moist wood expanded to squeeze the moisture out of the scratches, then dried, killing the bacteria. Whatever the mechanism, the wooden boards were safe, and the plastic boards not only dulled the knives (making them dangerous) but they contaminated the food.

I no longer use my plastic cutting board. I enjoy my wood prep counter and my wooden cutting boards (occasionally treated with mineral oil, or previously with vegetable oil).

[Ray Turney]

I soak my boards in mineral oil overnite in a plastic tub, then wipe off the excess and wrap in a white towel to wick off the excess for about 24hrs. Very little bleeding after this process.

[Corey Wilcox]

Jim,

I tried this method and it worked great. Just the finish I was looking for. Once the wax melted in I let the mixture cool and it formed a soft paste that worked great. Not too greasy, smelled great and I was able to buff the excess off into a nice matte finish. It's hard to say at this point how long a single application will hold up seeing as how it didn't soak in quite as well as pure mineral spirits, but seeing as how I used it on an edge grain board I think with a little maintenance it will be just fine.