bowl finishes

Hi Kevin,

I use several different hardening oils for finishing bowls. There are many on the market to choose from. I've used salad bowl finish oil made by general finishes. I've used antique finish oil. Also any nut oil will work too, such as walnut oil. Good luck in your search, I hope this helps.

Dan

I usually use two coats of shellac and two of either Briwax or Kerf's Woodcream. Instant gratification. :-)

Deb

Most of the time I use either Mahoney's Oil Wax Finish or Kerf's.

Ted J thelatentlog.com

Same here on the shellac, but I use Trewax.

I've also had good luck with Qualasole (sp?). For a while Zinsser made a faux french poliash that worked great, but they quit making it -Qualasole was as close to it as I could get.

Minwax wipe on poly.

I use lacquer 99% of the time. After sanding to 320, I spray an initial coat of lacquer. Final sanding to 400 or 800, first coat (no sealer) sand again to 400 or 800, second coat, complete going over with 0000 steel wool, third coat (blow drying each coat with compressed air). I usually let the piece sit now for at least 2-3 hours. Next up is another going over with

0000 steel wool and then a good buffing, 4th thru 5 or 6th coats, buffing between each coat...the last coat is then lightly hit with the 0000 steel wool and buffed out to complete.

Bob

I primarily used Formby's Tung Oil Finish. I normally rub on 4 coats with one day (at Least) of drying time between coats. Often, after the third coat, I will go over the whole thing with 400 mesh sand paper. After the

4th coat has plenty of time to dry completely (a few days at least), I use the beal system with the two abrasives followed by the carnauba wax. Really end up with nice, very smooth, finish. About 10 years ago we had a "bowling" party. I put all of my bowls on the pool table and then had my four sons each choose two (lottery to see who draw first). Was a much appreciated Christmas present. Now I am in process of retrieving these so I can go back using the beal system and polish them up. They can't believe how smooth and shiny they have become.

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Almost all of my bowls are intended for daily use. I won't use a surface finish like lacquer. Eventually it will crack, chip and peel off and the bowls looks terrible. The solvent finishes like Minwax I don't like either. Once the solvents are dry and totally evaporated out, they are food safe, but that takes at least a week. I don't like to wait that long. I like the soft oil finishes like Mahoney's walnut oil. It is made from the leaves and husks of the nuts, and will harden eventually (a week or two), but you can have it on the shelf the next day for use. The walnut oil in the store is different, it is pressed from the nut meats, and generally pasteurized. The heating breaks down whatever it is that lets the oil dry. This isn't a bad thing so much as it also helps to break down the proteins that cause the nut allergies. Just about any oil will work. Your commercial salad bowl/ butcher block oils are generally mineral oil. It never dries, and never really gives any protection, but the piece looks nice for a short while. Salad oils can go rancid. Mostly this is from not cleaning your bowls. You do need to clean them after each use. Most of the time I will just use water and a plastic scrubby. If the inside of the bowl starts to feel gummy/oily, then use mild dish soap, or you can also use table salt and some lemon or lime juice which does the same thing. Bowls also need to be out so they can breathe. We all know what happens to a piece of wood that is sealed in a plastic bag.

robo hippy

On Aug 28, 2:53 pm, "Bob Daun" wrote:

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On Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:41:30 -0500, Kevin Cleary wrote (in message ):

My finish choice depends somewhat on the use of the bowl. Decorative use or dry foodstuffs can permit surface finishes like shellac, lacquer or varnish - or any other finish actually. Food usage, like for salads or fruit or dry foods, I like pure tung oil, but that can take weeks to dry completely. Sometimes I will use a mix of paraffin wax, beeswax, and a smidgen of linseed oil warmed up and mixed together... when it has cooled I will get a bunch of this stuff on a rag... and apply to the wood surface while it is turning on the lathe. Friction heats things up and the finish melts into the wood. The wood will take up quite a lot of this kind of finish, and it looks very nice. It is not a real tough finish, but it goes into the wood and has a much different look than varnish or other surface finishes. Periodic polishing with something like Minwax paste wax polish helps it shine nicely. tom koehler