# Is there a trick to salad bowl finish?



## Bobostro61 (Feb 16, 2014)

I have a bowl that i've now put 3 coats of General Finishes Salad Bowl Finish on.  It seems that this stuff doesn't give a high gloss finish.  VERY  satin finish if you ask me.  Am I missing something on making salad bowl finish SHINE?


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## Bobostro61 (Feb 16, 2014)

I should add...  I guess I'm looking for a food safe finish that is high gloss.  Does one exist?


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## kovalcik (Feb 16, 2014)

All finishes are food safe these days once cured, so you can use anything from shellac, poly, or lacquer to get the gloss depending on the end use of the bowl.


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## Wildman (Feb 17, 2014)

I do not know of any high gloss film or oil finish that is food safe.  

Do not subscribe to one a finish is dry it is food safe, while FDA list many toxic chemcial that are safe for food contact do not list andy wood finishing products. Drying times do not equal curing time, most film finishes provide an in use time knowing full well their product may take more days or up to more than one month to fully cure.

When in doubt look at product MSDS and see if you want to eat of that bowl once finished. 

If turn a bowl for someone wanting to eat out of it; I use mineral oil as a finish, and give that person a small bottle of mineral oil to refinish as needed.  Use film finish on ninety nine percent of my bowls  and tell people my bowls are not food safe whether giving or selling.

Food-Safe Finishes - Fine Woodworking Article

Look what happened to crafters making children toys. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/business/smallbusiness/31toys.html?_r=0


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## fisher (Feb 17, 2014)

My Bad .


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## The Penguin (Feb 17, 2014)

olive oil will turn rancid 

mineral oil/beeswax blend is what I would try - but I don't think it will shine up.


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## kovalcik (Feb 17, 2014)

Here is an excerpt from the full version of the Fine woodworking article you referenced (From the pay site). It is their list of Edible Finishes. I deleted the description for all but Shellac.​
"In the welter of contrary opinions about which finishes are food
safe and which are not, a few naturally derived, unblended,
no-hidden-ingredients, certainly nontoxic finishes stand out.​ 
Pure tung oil. <snip>
Raw linseed oil. <snip>
Mineral oil. <snip>
Walnut oil. <snip>
Beeswax. <snip>
Carnauba wax. <snip>​ 
Shellac. 

A secretion from the lac bug.Harvested in India. Super blond shellac

in flake form is the most water​


resistant variety. A film-forming finish.Sold in woodworking catalogs and
hardware and art supply stores."​​
​So if you do not subscribe to the "all finishes are safe once cured" school of thought, your only real choice for a film finish is shellac. (They further recommend you mix it up yourself from shellac flakes and alcohol.) Of course shellac has other issues, mainly it is not very hard and it dissolves in alcohol. Personally I finish my bowls for food use with an oil and beeswax finish and tell customers it will need to be renewed frequently. It is just easier. You can buff to get some level of gloss, but it will never match a film finish. If I do use a film finish such as wipe on poly or shellac, I recommend it for decorative or for dry food items only. Mostly because I believe the finish will eventually breakdown from moisture.


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## lorbay (Feb 17, 2014)

When I do my salad bowls with the same finish I use a non selulose sanding sealer 1st and then 3 coats if this to a high gloss shine. This one is a semi gloss.
Lin.


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## Wildman (Feb 17, 2014)

The only people have sold bowls to wanting them for food prep or use knew all about mineral oil. They grew up in families using wood bowls.  At one time almost all turned bowls were finished with oil or oil & wax. 

I use laxative type of mineral oil only. Do not use industrial mineral oil or baby oil. 

I like walnut oil but shy away from it because of quality issues and cost. Almost all walnut oil from vendors catering to woodworkers get their walnut oil from salad industry.  You can also buy walnut oil from health food or art supply stores. Suppliers often less than honest about quality of their oil. Will find not always getting cold pressed oil, additives to keep oil clear and from stinking often added. 

Not until bowls elevated to an art form did we see oil varnish blends and film finishes used on bowls. I know several turners that use oil varnish blends and eat out of those bowls and simply wipe clean. You have not lived until see a film finished bowl come out of a dishwasher and someone ask if you can make it shinny again! Plain old hot soapy water destroys a lot of wood bowl finishes too! 

If get around green community will find they do not like Shellac because of DNA used in that finish. 

If going to turn bowls and used them in your home that is one thing but if going to sell them be careful about marketing them. I sell more bowls as works of art than for food use. I just do not get fine art prices for those bowls.


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## steve worcester (Feb 17, 2014)

General or Behlens Salad bowl finish will give you a gloss finish but it isn't as easy as it seems. I would flood the first coat to seal, wait a few days and then sand with about a 320 grit depending on how deep you needed to fill. Then wipe on a few coats and sand with 400 grit. Then wipe on a few more coats and sand with 400-600. Then wipe on a few more coats. You will need to be at 10+ coats. Then wet sand with 600-800 and then wet sand with 1000 and 1200-1500 grit.

OK, now buff with the Beal system, white diamond and then Carnuba wax.

It isn't easy, but I have bowls that were done 10+ years ago that still look fantastic. Providing you don't use a knife in the bowl.

For a real food safe bowl with high gloss finish it is the only way I know of that works. This is outside of the world that says all finishes that have dried are food safe. These are actually tested.


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## kovalcik (Feb 17, 2014)

Just for fun, here are the ingredients for GF Salad Bowl Finish (From the MSDS):

Mineral Spirits
Oil Modified urethane resin (Proprietary so who knows what is in it)
Nonane
Trimethylbenzene

For Behlens Salad Bowl Finish:
II. COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS 

Solvent naphtha (petroleum) 
Tung Oil 
Toluene 
Ethylbenzene 
Cobalt Compounds 

These are the same basic ingredients in Watco Danish Oil also except they use a linseed oil base, but are not FDA approved.

Basically, GH and Behlen paid lots of money for the FDA to approve them.  There is no magic to their formula to make them "safe" compared to many other products that are not FDA approved.  So if you are nervous about chemicals and metals, FDA approval may not mean what you think.  If you trust the FDA, many other products on the market have the same make-up just not the expensive approval.


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## Wildman (Feb 18, 2014)

When reading an MSDS or SDS keep in mine not all toxic chemicals need to be listed in section two if manufacture deems amount too small to worry about.

On many of new green products on the market MSDS & SDS, while may not see any hazards listed in section two there is a disclaimer on the bottom about product liability. 

You should be reading and heeding safety warnings labels on product packaging as well as those listed on MSDS or SDS. You want to be aware of health concerns working with and storing products as well as safety to others you give or sell your work too.


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