Need Advice on Glossy Finish for Salad Bowl

[Izzy Charo]

Hello...not sure if this post belongs here, or on the finishing section. I'm looking for a glossy finish for a salad bowl I turned. The salad bowl will actually be used (you know, for salads!)...so the finish needs to be easy to renew. I put an oil finish on it...and was disappointed with the matte appearance. I understand that if I use one of the wipe-on poly finishes that when they need to be renewed it will require sanding back to the unfinished wood...which is a pain. So, I'm wondering how other turners have addressed this issue....and also wondering if Rubio Monocoat might give a bit of gloss to the finish and also be easy to renew...
Thanks!
Izzy

[John Keeton]

I think it is a huge mistake to put a gloss finish on a utilitarian bowl.

[Jim Morgan]

Hello...not sure if this post belongs here, or on the finishing section. I'm looking for a glossy finish for a salad bowl I turned. The salad bowl will actually be used (you know, for salads!)...so the finish needs to be easy to renew. I put an oil finish on it...and was disappointed with the matte appearance. I understand that if I use one of the wipe-on poly finishes that when they need to be renewed it will require sanding back to the unfinished wood...which is a pain. So, I'm wondering how other turners have addressed this issue....and also wondering if Rubio Monocoat might give a bit of gloss to the finish and also be easy to renew...
Thanks!
Izzy

Rubio Monocoat is not the way to go. It is designed to be applied to bare wood; the pre-existing oil finish will likely prevent it from penetrating and adhering. In any event, it will add little, if any, gloss.

I have had good luck with CrystaLaq water-based finishes. They can be applied over fully cured oil finishes. The manufacturer claims that each coat melts into the previous one, lacquer-like. In my experience, renewal coats can be applied after cleaning and light sanding, without the need to go back down to bare wood.

Of course, the glossy finish can be maintained longer with proper maintenance. Wipe the bowl out promptly after use (don't leave vinegar sitting inside) & dry it, do not immerse in water, etc.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Watco butcher block oil can be built up and polished to a decent luster. It goes dull with use.

[Jeff Jackson]

I agree with John. A surface coating like poly or lacquer will eventually scratch and chip if the piece is used. You can buff a sheen into an oil finish but it will dull with use.

[Richard Coers]

I made 2 dozen 18" salad bowls with a poly finish. Either it worked, or they don't use them, because I have never gotten a complaint in the 8-9 years they have been out there. I don't know what kind of serving tools you all use, but in my house it's wood or plastic. No idea how you can destroy a poly finish with wood or plastic without just plain physically trying to abuse the bowl.

[Reed Gray]

Well, to me, the best way to get a gloss finish is for a surface finish, of which there are many. The problem with them is that they will all eventually crack, chip, and peel off. Wood moves, and surface finishes don't. I prefer the matt finishes in part because of this, and I really don't like the gloss other than for things that don't get used, aka dust collectors.

robo hippy

[Walter Mooney]

Izzy, what about General Finishes’ “Wood Bowl Finish”? It’s a penetrating oil finish that’s ready for re-coat in 24 hours. I’ve found that three coats gives a nice, not too glossy, but a little more than satin finish, depending of course on the wood. I brush the first coat on, with a foam brush, basically until ‘refusal’ — until it stops absorbing into the wood. Then go back the next day for the second coat, and maybe a third day for a third coat. On some woods, two coats look fine to me, and SWMBO