Is there a food safe non-yellowing finish?

[Al Rogers]

Hi

I'm turning some maple bowls and want to use a "food safe" finish on them. I have used Tung oil but the bowls turn a yellow/ tan colour. Is there a clear finish I could use instead?
Thanks

AL

[Greg Just]

mineral oil would be one suggestion.

[John Keeton]

Maple is going to yellow a little just from the passage of time. The mineral oil will work, but will need to be replenished often, and it doesn't polymerize (harden), so it isn't really a "finish". You could thin some lacquer with about 10% acetone, and apply it, then buff with 0000. That will give some protection, but be a dull finish. But, even it will not stand up to kitchen use for long.

[Joe Landon]

My understanding is that all finishes are food safe once cured.

[John Keeton]

My understanding is that all finishes are food safe once cured.

That part is true, but to get a non-yellowing "finish" is difficult on a utility bowl. Most "finishes" will not hold up to constant moisture/drying cycles, and mineral oil is about it, as far as I know. Even the water based acrylic finishes (non-yellowing) won't do well over time with kitchen use.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Haven't really found a finish that won't yellow maple somewhat except for lacquer. I use Mahoney's walnut oil or antique oil on those I use for food items. I will use lacquer if they are designed to hold fruit or candy.

[Curt Fuller]

Al, I've used the Minwax Polycrylic on a few things that I wanted a nice clear finish. It stays clear and doesn't yellow. But I can't say how it would hold up to use as a salad bowl or repeated washing. I think the mineral oil idea would be best for being able to restore the finish when it needs it.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Al,
A wooden bowl in a kitchen setting moves too much for hard finish. Oils move with the wood since they are in it not on it. Unfortunately, most oils yellow or at least darken wood. If you don't protect the bowl, yellowing will be a moot point. Let it yellow a bit and protect it with a nice high quality renewable finish. Then tell the owner to wipe it with water and not soak it, renew the finish often and it will just keep getting better with age.
faust

[Al Rogers]

Thanks all

I'll give the mineral oil a go.
AL

[Mike Hollingsworth]

this stuff is made specifically for maple tops and is VERY easy to use:
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Good...ps-1-pt-/H2371

[Joe Herrmann]

There is a walnut oil sold under the name of "Preserve" that is clear as water and shouldn't cause any discoloration. I got it at Eagle America but HUT Products had it at one time. I use it for all my food related items.

[Michelle Rich]

tung oil is not food safe..you do not want to eat it
We've had this discussion before & I think "eatin" bowls should have no "finish at all" For 30-40 yrs I have used olive oil & let my salad dressing of olive oil & vinegar get soaked into the bowl . Olive oil & vinegar are both antibacterial...after eating your salad your bowl less germy than when you started!!! Search for the previous discussion on this. Mineral oil isconsidered food safe, but it is nothing more than parrafin wax in a melted state. Parrafin wax is a petroleum product. Do research before you put anything in your mouth

[John Keeton]

Walnut oil could cause serious allergic reaction for those that have nut allergies. I know it is used a lot, but one never knows who will come in contact with the bowl. Michelle may have the best idea - olive oil!

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Mineral oil is safe and easy to "renew". Just wipe it on, and wipe is off.

[Mike Meredith]

A warning up front, I have a PhD in Biochemistry, am boarded in Clinical Nutrition and make walnut oil based woodturning finishes. About 90% of "nut allergies" are against peanuts which are legumes, not a nut at all. Tree nut allergies do occur with cashew being most common followed by almond and walnut. Allergy to olive oil occurs at about the same rate as any tree nut allergy, very rarely. Moreover, since olive oil is not a polymerizing oil (won't harden in the wood like walnut or tung oil) olive oil can become rancid (if you have turned olive wood you know what i mean) and will darken with time.

More to the point about use in finishes. Potential allergy has to do with the nature of the oil. A pressed oil will have both protein and lipid (oil) components. We are almost exclusively allergic to proteins. An oil that has been heated to more than 90 degrees C will have a vanishingly small amount of protein. Neither will it have any flavor so the walnut oil you buy for salad dressing is very different in composition than the oil I use. After processing, I can find no trace of protein in the walnut oil I use, even by the most sensitive method available in my lab. The methyl ethy ketone and Stoddard solvent used in most finishes is detectable even by nose for several years after use. The Mahoney approach, no finish and let time add the patina, is the only truly safe finish but it isn;t much good at protecting the wood. It is more probable that someone will have an issue with the mushrooms in your salad than the walnut oil finish on your bowl.