Segmented Salad Bowl - Food Safe Finish Question

[Doug Reesor]

I finished this walnut and cherry bowl recently and finished off with satin polyurethane wiping varnish. I have read that polyurethane and other varnishes are food safe when properly dried because the "non-food safe" compounds are those that evaporate during drying and once cured they can be cleaned with a damp cloth. Others have said that the only food safe compounds are wax and oil. So which is it?

Either way, my sister bought the bowl.

Doug

[Andrew Derhammer]

All finishes are food safe after they vent off all the the extra compounds in them. AKA anything goes.

[Kaptan J.W. Meek]

I don't eat off Lacquer... Poly is ok, once it cures, but if your really worried.. Woodcrafters and Rockler both sell a "Food Safe Oil" finish.. It's not very glossy, but it's durable, and does make the grain show up good.. Nice bowl, good luck.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Doug - everything I have read states that all finishes, once fully cured, are food safe. So, your poly should work just fine.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Doug all finishes are now food safe including lacquer. I use Minwax Antique oil or General finishes Seal-A-Cell followed by a couple of coats of Arm-R-Seal. I have 3 sets of salad bowls out with this finish and they still look good. I have a cereal bowl I have used for 2 yrs. now with Antique oil on it. Just for your info the finishes that are sold as food safe at the wood suppliers are no different than any other varnishes sold. I think it was in American Woodturner or Woodturning Design that the author of a article on finishes and being food safe asked Behlen and the others why they said their varnish was food safe since it was the same thing as other varnishes they said because it sells product. In this same article he said put your nose next to the bowl and if you can still smell the finish it hasn't cured enough. I let most finishes cure at least 2 weeks to a month before use.

[Jim Becker]

Yup, no problem with any of the current finishes available on the market after they are fully cured. That said, you have to consider how the piece will be used and cleaned. Something that is used a lot...say, a salad bowl...is going to be better served with a renewable finish, such as mineral oil or mineral oil/paraffin. The reason is that almost any film finish is not going to hold up to constant cleaning and immersion in water...and they will start to look "not so good" after some time passes. For infrequent/special occasion use, I'd be perfectly happy with a film finish, but for a true "user", I'd go with the renewable finish.

[Curt Fuller]

I'll agree with what everyone has said about nearly all finishes being food safe after they've had time to cure. The thing I wonder about bowl finishes though is how they hold up to use and washing. If a bowl is going to be used often and washed often, do you use a finish that will hold up to the water? Or do you use one that will be easily re-finished after a few uses. Oils, like sald bowl oil, walnut oil or mineral oil can be rejuvenated just by wiping on a fresh coat. But polys and lacquers would require some sanding and refinishing to keep a nice look to them. Sorry my reply is a question, but I've wondered about that aspect of the finish more than the food safe aspect.

[Kevin McPeek]

I guess I look at things a little differently. For me it depends on what the item is intended for. For a salad bowl sure most finishes will do but for a plate or anything that might see a knife, I only use an oil (mineral or walnut). There are two reasons for this. I don't want anyone, including me, eating chips whatever film finish might be removed in cutting. I also don't want someone thinking they have a poorly made bowl (we'll leave my forms out of this discussion) because the finish is being scratched up and loosing sheen. Not too mention you can tell people to treat it with whatever oil they use on there butcher block.