Bowll Finish

[Dan Williams]

I was wondering, I am starting to turn bowls and I like Varnish as a finish and was wondering if I could take a submurge the bows in say TUNG oil, let dry and then apply the varnish ?

I like the looks of high gloss. It looks as if you are looking into the heart and soul of the wood.

I would like to hear your thoughts on my question and the finish that works best for you and why ?

When Varnish drys is it safe for foods like chips or popcorn or whole fruit ?


Thanks for taking time

Dan

[Tom Keen]

In the last year Ive experimented with everything. If you are looking for somthing at will seal and protect the wood from rigors of everyday use, I suggest wipe on poly..easy to use, it finishes nicely and is completely water proof. A less durable alternative would be Danish Oil, which is a combo, oil and varnish.

I like tung oil but it dries very slowly, if at all. Tung based varnishes asuch as Waterlox work well but are expensive (IMO)

Laquer is very nice but tricky and time consuming. And the vapor are pretty nasty. Ive had good luck with using only a cellulose sanding sealer and buffing, especially on porous/punky wood.

Shellac based products are easy to use but arent durable.

Oil and wax is easy, attractive, but ages and needs to be replentished regularly.

Im currently on a thinned tung oil kick. Im liking the satin finish and natural surface texture and Im not in any big hurry right now. I will buff and wax after a month of drying.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I use either Minwax Antique Oil or General Finishes Seal-A-Cell followed by Arm-R-Seal or Waterlox. I have a salad bowl set after a year of use now with the General Finishes on it and they still look good. I also have some candy dishes, popcorn/chip bowls with Waterlox on them that still look good. Ernie Conover uses nothing but Antique oil on all his utensil used for eating. The ones that advertise Salad Bowl finishes as food safe is just that advertising. They are no different than Antique oil or Danish oil.

[Dan Williams]

I use either Minwax Antique Oil or General Finishes Seal-A-Cell followed by Arm-R-Seal or Waterlox. I have a salad bowl set after a year of use now with the General Finishes on it and they still look good. I also have some candy dishes, popcorn/chip bowls with Waterlox on them that still look good. Ernie Conover uses nothing but Antique oil on all his utensil used for eating. The ones that advertise Salad Bowl finishes is just that advertising. They are nothing more than Antique oil or Danish oil.


IS ANTIQUE OIL high gloss

[Jerry Pittman]

Dan,
It will be high gloss of you put it on like wipe-on poly instead of wiping it off as the directions tell you. I use it more like that than I do for it's intended use because I like the look that I get better than poly. It is thinner so it takes more coats but I think it is worth it.
Jerry

[Glenn Hodges]

Dan, surmerging a bowl in tung oil could be expensive, could be expensive, did I get the point across that this could be expensive? I use Russ Fairfield's formula of 1/3 each of polymerized turn oil, turpentine, and polyurathene. Some use 1/2 mineral oil and polyurathene or substitute regular tung oil for the polymerized tung oil. The polymerized tung oil is more expensive but it cures faster. I use marine polyurathene, thinking it might be a little tougher. I paint it on let it set for 5 to 10 minutes to soak into the wood then wipe it off so you can't see a finger print. I then let it cure for 24 hours and repeat the proceedure. I put 5 or more coats of this on a bowl. I then let the bowl cure for a week and then buff with the Beal Buffing System. This will give you a glossy finish.

*Make sure it is 100% tung oil not the Fornby Tung Oil which is a mixture. There are others which are called tung oil and are only mixtures, again look for the 100% label.

I sometimes also use Deff glossy spray can, and build a finish with layers until I get the desired glossy finish I like. Hopes this helps.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

I just use wipe on poly, either gloss or satin. The first day I wipe on 4-5 coats waiting for each to dry. I try to build up a good coat that first day because I will wait until the next day for the final coats. You don't have to sand or anything between all the first day coats.

The next day I use 0000 steel wool to smooth out the finish getting rid of dust nibs etc. I work pretty hard to get a real smooth surface here. I use compressed air to clean the bowl followed by a clean paper towel and a little mineral spirits. Then I take the bowl to a clean area and apply a very thin wipe on poly coat. This is usually my last coat but I might steel wool one more time and recoat if I'm not satisfied.

So that's it to a very simple finish: 4- 5 coats the first day followed by 1-2 coats the second day.