So I'm deep into gifting end grain cutting board for the holidays this year, my way of saying, "Sorry, I'm not leaving the house because of Rona but here's this really nice cutting board!". Include with each is some instructions about taking care of the board, oiling it, use Google if you have any questions. Guess I was too vague. One "customer" proudly texted me a picture of the Watco BB oil they bought, in compliance with my instructions to "oil" the board. For starters, I'm already loading these things up with mineral oil, then the ubiquitous mineral oil and bees wax, and I expose them to a variety of drastic humidity and temperature changes over a few weeks to "see what happens", and (in the case of 3 out of 40 boards) rectify any "it happened". In order to educate myself about this magical product, I picked up a pint today, but the label and Watco are lacking any detail about this product other than how to use it out of the can. My questions are, and again, I'm wanting to educate myself so I can educate my customers (friends and family, I refuse to sell wood projects!) about how to care for their end grain boards:
- Can this be applied to an end grain board that already has the mineral oil/bees wax treatment, say, a few months after said treatment?
- Can this be applied to an end grain board that already has the mineral oil/bees wax treatment, say, a few years after said treatment?
- If this is applied to a "naked" end grain board, what, if any, re-oiling maintenance needs to be done after, considering "Average" use and washing?
I'm going to finish one of my rejects with this just to see what happens. Personally, I'm not a fan, prefer the mineral oil and bees wax myself, but like I said, I have a big family and few friends, they're going to buy the first thing that says "oil" in the BORG. I'll leave any discussion about if it's food safe or not to another thread/site/forum, the label says it is, who am I to argue with Watco's lawyers, because I will lose that argument with most of my "customers", again, citing "Well the label says it is" and that is where their research into the product safety will end. "I wouldn't use it" will fall on deaf ears, and if I tell folks that they shouldn't use it, I'll be referred to as "dumber than a box of hammers, can't you read the danged label?"
Based on your answers and knowledge of my customers, I may end up finishing some of these with the Watco, knowing they're going to do it anyway.