Waterlox on bowls

[Fred Perreault]

I was wondering if anyone uses, or has experience with Waterlox sealers and finishes on bowls, platters and such that are to be used for food serving?

Thanks, Fred

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

if they are to be gifts or sale items - I would be concerned about the recipient's ability to refresh the finish on the interior of the bowl.

walnut oil, mineral oil, or mineral oil/beeswax are easily applied by the bowl's future owner and are all food safe with no flash-off time required.

[Pat Scott]

I use Danish Oil on my bowls and platters for food, which is really what Waterlox is. For the bowls that we use at home, I haven't had a need to refinish any of them. They all look just like they did 3-4 years ago. The only bowl I've had to refinish was one that I used Walnut oil on.

I just reapplied some finish to our plates that we use daily (for 3 years) because they were starting to look a little dry. I just wiped on a few more coats of Danish Oil and they look like new again. I didn't prep them or sand them or anything, I just wiped on more DO.

I don't use Mineral Oil because it's a non-drying oil, meaning it never dries. If you want to pick up a bowl months from now and get oily fingers, well..that's not for me. Also the first time you wash the piece the oil is gone. Wax is the same way, it offers very little in the way of long term protection. Just my .02 cents, I'm not trying to stir anything up with those that use it, it's just not what I want.

[Prashun Patel]

Waterlox isn't the same thing as Danish Oil. Waterlox is a varnish. Danish oil is a varnish and oil mix. Waterlox can be brushed or wiped on to a high build. Danish oil cannot. Neither are considered food safe (at least uncured). It will take a long time for a danish oil finish to cure. A Waterlox finish cures in about a month. If you are of the mind that cured finishes are all food safe, then Waterlox will get there faster.

Watco makes salad bowl finish which is food safe from the get go.

Not that I recommend it, but I have several bowls in both Danish oil and Waterlox, and both have served dry foods fine (at least the doctors haven't found anything yet.)

[Pat Scott]

Danish Oil is typically thought of as a mixture of 1/3 solids, 1/3 solvent, and 1/3 carrier. The solids portion are usually Urethane, Varnish, or Polyurethane. Solvents are typically Mineral Spirits, Paint Thinner, or Turpentine. The carrier is usually Tung Oil or Linseed Oil. Manufacturers will vary the percentages and products used to make theirs different from their competitors. A lot of times you'll see the manufacturer say something like "...a unique blend of penetrating oil & varnish..." when describing their product. It doesn't have to say Danish Oil on the can for it to be a Danish Oil.

General Finish and Behlen's Salad Bowl Finish, as well as Waterlox Original Sealer/Finish, fall into the Danish Oil category because they are all a mixture of oil, varnish, and a solvent. Watco makes a Butcher Block Oil and Finish (for salad bowls as well), which is Alkyd resin, Tung Oil, and Mineral Spirits based. Waterlox Original uses Tung Oil for the carrier, Phenolic Resin for the solids, and Ester Gum for the solvent.

Waterlox says on their website that the original Waterlox formula is "By definition, Waterlox Original Tung oil finishes are “phenolic modified Tung oil-based varnishes”. They are using a solids/solvent/carrier mixture and just altering the ratios and products used to suit them. The original formula is "low solids". Their website says: "Without revealing the exact nature of our proprietary formulas, we can disclose that the solids portion of these finishes is made up of 85% Tung oil and 15% resin, rosin and driers."

In my opinion that's a Danish Oil.

[Prashun Patel]

Pat, Waterlox contains no oil - as in boiled linseed or tung or mineral oil. It is a only solvent and resin; it's strictly a wiping varnish. There's a lot of complicated and misleading information about Waterlox both by the manufacturer and by the general public.

The job of the solvent is to keep the resin dispersed in itself and to protect it from oxygen so it will stay mobile and not hard, and to deliver it to the surface in that form so it can spread around, and then to get out of the way and evaporate so the resin can react with oxygen and harden.

Any oil in the mix will keep the resin from hardening longer, but critically, will not evaporate before the varnish begins to set. This has bad implications (you better not leave the surface too wet or it will become gummy) and good implications (if you are going after a thin, in-the-wood finish, you will have the proper time to wipe it off; trying to wipe off a pure wiping varnish can be done, but you have to move very quickly and you risk streaks and dust because the surface gets too sticky quickly.)

[Robert Willing]

I use Waterlox on just about all my turnings. Bowls, S & P Mills, bottle Stoppers etc. At one time I used lacquer but found that it did not hold up well to kitchen environment. On S & P Mills I pour lacquer in the hole that is bored and let it set for about 2 minutes than pour it out and let dry, than shape the out side. On bottle stoppers I use to soak in teak oil for 24 hours than drain and let dry for 24 hours than polish. Bowl I have always used Waterlox. I use two coats of Waterlox on all of the above.

[curtis rosche]

I use only waterlox on my work. I love it.

[Fred Perreault]

Thanks for the responses, and the back and forth. I am going to try using Waterlox on a few pieces after years of using home made mystery oil. Waterlox makes a few different products, but i am going to use their "original' sealer/finish product as it seems to penetrate better than the other products that seem to sit on top. Almost all of my turnings are intended for home use in the kitchen or dining table. Though this should not be the final word on the matter, but if truth in packaging has any merit, Waterlox claims on the side of their "Original Sealer Finish" that it contains: Mineral spirits, Tung oil, Ester gum, Phenolic resin and Linseed oil with 26.3% non volatile and 73.7% volatile by weight. On their "Satin Finish" they claim: MIneral spirits, Tung oil, Ester gum, Olefin resin and Phenolic resin with 40.04% nonvalatile and 59.96 volatile by weight. I like the way that the Original Sealer/Finish penetrates and builds up, but the finishes just lay their on top.

[Prashun Patel]

If there's any linseed oil in there, it certainly doesn't ACT like it in practice. That is, the OSF and all their pure varnishes dry as hard as glass. The reason the OSF appears to penetrate is because it is thinner than their satin and gloss (pure) products. ALL of them in reality penetrate about the same. The gloss and satin just build faster - with fewer coats - than the OSF. But given enough applications, they will lay on top the same.

The OSF is darker than either the gloss or satin products. Perhaps this is because of the linseed oil. I suspect that there is only a smidge of linseed oil and they heat or chemically dry it so it doesn't compromise the hardness of the final finish.

When you get the OSF, I recommend you get the "Original Formulation" not the "VOC Compliant" formulation. I think the Original goes on easier than the VOC. Confusing: Original Sealer Finish Original Formulation...

[Robert Willing]

One caution about Waterlox it gels very fast once it is open. I took the quart container and poured it into several smaller jars to make the quart last over time. A quart is very expensive.

[Marty Tippin]

One caution about Waterlox it gels very fast once it is open. I took the quart container and poured it into several smaller jars to make the quart last over time. A quart is very expensive.

+1. I lost about 3/4 of a can within a couple weeks of opening it for the first time.

Haven't tried it, but suspect "Bloxygen" http://www.bloxygen.com/ might be helpful in prolonging the usability of Waterlox.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

The Waterlox does have Tung oil in it, but the biggest part is volatiles with also some toxic ingredients like Benzene and Cobalt Naphtanate, not a finish I would use as breathing this stuff in is not advised, will also go through the skin, also would not want to use it on any of my turnings.

Oh I better put the pertinent DATA here or else we might get some disagreements here

Waterlox finish.jpg MSDS Waterlox High Gloss Finish.jpg

Oh yes between de Stoddard 60% by weight (it is more in volume) and the two Trimethylbenzene, then the Tung oil is with the Ester gum in the top 5 ingredients, yes, so probably around 5 %, .....maybe
Toxic and other Ingredients Waterlox.jpg

[Leo Van Der Loo]

+1. I lost about 3/4 of a can within a couple weeks of opening it for the first time.

Haven't tried it, but suspect "Bloxygen" http://www.bloxygen.com/ might be helpful in prolonging the usability of Waterlox.

Marty, next time put it in a easy closeable container, and fill that to the fop, when there is room in it after using some finish I fill the container with water (oil floats on water) you could also use glass marbles to do the same.

I use a bottle with a closable top, the bottle shows how full the bottle is and with the narrow neck there is very little air to get into contact with the finish.

Oh and my goto finish is Polymerized Tung oil, I buy mine at Lee Valley

closeable bottle.jpg

[Dwight Rutherford]

Another option to prevent air getting to your finishes is to use "Stop Loss Bags".