Bowl finishing

[Steve Paxman]

I swear, no matter what I'm doing to finish my bowls and such, I always feel like it isn't quite right.

So, I'd love some recommendations. Suppose I make a bowl that is decorative only, or really just for someone to toss their keys and wallet into as they come in the door. The finish doesn't matter all that much, right? I've used a home-made friction polish (shellac, mineral oil, waxes, DNA) that works pretty well if done over a cellulose sanding sealer. I've also used just plain danish oil, and also used just plain walnut oil. All see to be okay.

But suppose I want a bowl that is for eating? And I don't mean just a candy dish or salad bowl. What if it's a cereal bowl? There's gonna be cheerios and milk in this thing. I'm thinking a shellac based friction polish will wear out too fast here? OK, so what do I use? And what will keep the grain on the bowl from raising as soon as the thing is wet with milk? Heck, what keeps the grain raising on a candy dish or salad bowl from getting wet when it gets washed? Do you guys raise the grain on your bowls with water a half dozen times before you finish the bowl?

Please, educate me!

-Steve

[Michelle Rich]

I've been using "naked bowls" for decades. The bowl will get wet, wash it and let it air dry. It will survive.

[Steve Paxman]

I've been using "naked bowls" for decades. The bowl will get wet, wash it and let it air dry. It will survive.

But doesn't it get ridiculously "fuzzy" if you're using a wood like walnut, or something like that? nobody likes a fuzzy cereal bowl...

[John Thorson]

The people who hand carve bowls and those who use a pole lathe to turn bowls do not sand them. The surface as cut by a sharp tool will not 'fuzz' much at all, it is the sandpaper that is leaving the fuzz. Many folks who eat off their turned plates and bowls put nothing on the wood. Others use food grade walnut oil or flax seed oil (gets a different name when pressed for humans to eat) because these oils dry to at least a semi-solid state over time and won't wash away in one rinsing like mineral oil. I use walnut oil because I like to freshen them up every so often.

[Scott Hackler]

Walnut or a open grain wood is not a great "food grade" wood, IMO. Use maple, cherry, osage, honey locust.... Sand it to 400 in both directions and generously apply Mike's Walnut Ooil or mineral oil. Eat away, wash gently by hand and air dry. Reapply oil as needed every so often

[Pat Scott]

Steve I use Danish Oil on all of my utility bowls and plates. I'll wet the bowl with a spray bottle of water after I'm all done turning and sanding it (just before I'm ready to take it off the chuck). Let it dry then sand it again with the last grit of sandpaper you just got done using. I put on 3, maybe 4, coats of Danish Oil and let the finish fully cure before using the bowl. No fuzzy bowls or plates yet after years of use. With Danish Oil the key is to apply the oil, let it sit for a few minutes, and then wipe it all off almost buffing the surface as you wipe it off. You're wiping oil off the surface but there is still oil in the pores. I have not had to refinish any of my bowls or plates yet either, they look just as good today as they did when new.

[Prashun Patel]

IMHO, the problem is that milk is a surprisingly good solvent. Just as it absorbs fridge odors, so too will it absorb finish odors and taste. A non-curing finish will be replenishable but many - by their slow/never cure nature - will also remain soluble even to a tiny degree. Will all people notice it? Maybe not. But I can taste off odors in milk pretty easily.

My vote is therefore to leave the bowl raw, but burnish the heck out of it. Sand it to the highest grit you can stand dry. If it gets fuzzy after use, just resand it.

[Reed Gray]

Walnut can be a problem wood. I would not serve wet foods in it. The walnut can flavor what ever you are eating. It drives some people crazy, and others love it. Other than that I use the Doctor's Woodshop walnut oil. Mineral oil does nothing other than make the wood look wet for a few days. Nut oils will cure and harden, but it takes a week or two. If you are selling, most woods look a lot better with a finish on them.

robo hippy

[Prashun Patel]

Reed, (I say this with due humility):

Most nut oils do not cure on their own - at least not before they go rancid. That is definitely the case with pure walnut oil. Many 'nut' oils that wood finishers sell have been modified to dry before they go rancid. All I'm saying is the OP needs to know the product he's applying. I think it's proper to suggest a particular brand, but potentially misleading to suggest a category in this case.

The only reason I know this is because my company buys essential oils from many products including walnut oil pure. When I tried to use our material, it behaved like almond oil - refusing to dry, and developing a fatty, rancid odor after a few weeks.

[Scott Hackler]

In my experience, Mahoney's walnut oil doesn't "dry" per se, but acts similar to mineral oil...but with a slight grain enhancement due to the color of the oil. I prefer to use this for any food safe stuff and after applying a couple coats I let it sit for a day or two and buff it off with a paper towel. The end result is a finish that is food safe, has a nice satin warm glow and no residue on your hands when handling.

Now does it cure out?? I don't know for sure.

I do know that it is treated somehow to remove the elements that folks with nut allergies should avoid and it has no flavor to speak of (yeah I tasted it!).

[Reed Gray]

Well, I can't explain it, but I do know the walnut oil for wood bowls is heat processed some way. This is supposed to break down the proteins that can cause an allergic reaction. The stuff sold in the grocery stores for salads is different, and I think pasteurized. It will not set up. I generally buy a gallon at a time, and have some of the pint plus sized bottles that I fill up as I need more. After a year or so, there is a film built up on the outside that can be scraped off with a finger nail. It does take a week or three for the walnut oil to cure. The curing is really slow, and Mike Mahoney says that UV light really helps. Can't remember if the Doctor recommends this or not. I used to place the bowls on a wire rack with a 60 watt bulb under then to speed up the curing. With the oils that have hardeners/accelerators in them, if you leave your rags piled up they will start a fire. With the walnut oils, they don't, but I still don't take chances.

robo hippy

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

I like a hard finish on bowls even if I mean them to be used for food. Having said that, I don't expect wooden bowls to be used for cereal or soup. Popcorn, salads and fruits are more the norm. A friend of mine introduced me to a product made by a German company. The brand is Livos. It is made purely from linseed oils. Even the driers are somehow extracted from the fruit. It was originally made to be a floor finish but since it contains no solvents and is completely non-allergenic, I feel it makes a great bowl finish. It dries hard and quickly. Dense woods like cherry or the maples require only 2 coats. It can be buffed to a shiny luster but I usually don't bother. The higher grit you sand to, the less oil you need so I sand to 600 even for salad bowls. Then while wearing latex gloves I completely wet the piece dabbing extra on the end grain portions. 10 minutes later holding the bowl with a paper towel in each hand, I wipe the bowl completely dry never letting my fingers touch the bowl. The next evening I repeat the process and set the bowl aside for a few days. Easy peazy. Livos oil has two down sides; there are no American distributors. I buy mine on line from a Canadian company. Secondly, it is pricy. I don't mind either since it does a good job, dries hard and endures.
faust

[Scott Conners]

I tend to use Mahoney's walnut oil on walnut. It will darken and get patinated if you use it. I've used it on maple, as well as various mineral oil/wax blends and plain mineral oil. My mother has a beautiful 18" maple salad bowl that only ever gets olive oil occasionally. It's held up for over 20 years and looks amazingly close to new.

I've also eaten off stuff I've made finished with watco oil, and it seems to work well.

[Barry Elder]

Tung Oil, while expensive, solves the problems imagined in our society today. Heat-treated Tung Oil has become readily available from quite a few sources around the Country, or you can call Sutherland Welles as they make many types and have a lot of knowledge which they will readily share.