# most durable finish for goblets and bowls



## d.frana (Dec 15, 2010)

I am having some problems with the finish I used for goblets and bowls. I want it food safe and to be able to stand up to regular use by the buyers. In the past I have used behlen salad bowl finish but it goes bad fast in the can. How well does the you can spray into the can to revent that work? I believe the product is called bloxygen.

I ve heard any interior polyurethane is food safe when it's fully cured. And I know the salad finish has to be cured. I see other products in catalogs such as Odie's Oil and am curious how durable they really are. I don't want my buyers to have to try to restore a finish.


----------



## Maylar (Sep 3, 2013)

I dunno about goblets - if you need waterproof then I suppose lacquer might work. If the bowls are for eating out of though you don't want a film finish. The salad bowl oil stuff is best, or none at all. I have some teak wood salad bowls with no finish that have been in service for 30 years.

Bloxygen works. I use it for extending the shelf life of expensive hardeners for automotive finishes. If you happen to have a MIG welder with a bottle of Argon - that's what Bloxygen is.


----------



## saculnhoj (May 18, 2015)

I'm certainly not an expert on this but have done a lot of research and listened to what is said on the forums. I've turned a lot of bowls and fair number of goblets but they aren't for use, or occasional use. I prefer not to use a film type finish on the inside such as lacquer, poly, wipe on poly, etc. It will eventually fail. It won't hurt you. It just basically plastic and we eat out of plastic spoons, coffee cups etc. 
The last set of goblets I made for a wedding which would be used occasionally but mostly they are decorative I used Mike Mahoney's Walnut oil. Walnut oil tends to penetrate a little and is a hardening oil so it won't go bad with age. If you only use one or two layers it's not really built up and so should last a pretty good while. His oil has had the allergen removed so it is food and allergy safe. My only problem with it is from a sales point of view. When asked what finish and you say walnut oil. If they are allergic they are unlikely to buy it even if you explain that it is allergy safe. Other than that I love the stuff.


----------



## 9thousandfeet (Dec 28, 2014)

I have used Waterlox for some things for years, and like the Behlen's it will gel in the container quite quickly once it's been opened, so I do use Bloxygen.

The Bloxygen doesn't prevent the gelling, but it does buy you a fair amount of time before it happens. I turn a fair few pieces regularly, so I go through a fresh can of Waterlox in less than a month, so the Bloxygen works for me. 

But for bowls and other work which is intended for food contact, and that's probably 75% of everything I turn, I don't like to use anything I wouldn't eat, even though I'm aware that most finishes are "safe" once fully cured.

I cook professionally as well as turn wood, so I really don't like any kind of coating on my woodenware and I don't like glossy finishes on wood either, so I just use walnut oil, which is both non-toxic and with 2 or 3 applications will actually dry to a very attractive sheen, though it does take a while to dry to where the work no longer feels oily.

I tell customers that if they want to re-oil the work every once in a while to preserve the "new" look for longer, that's fine, and if they don't and just treat it like, say, a wooden spoon, that's fine too. 
Either way they decide, the appearance of the work will inevitably change over the years with food service use and all they can do about that is alter how long those changes take.

I personally think that the appearance of a well-used and frequently washed (hot soapy water, by hand, then just rinsed and allowed to dry) bowl improves over time, but it's true that not everyone feels that way. For those people, wooden food service ware is probably not their best choice.


----------



## HowardAcheson (Nov 25, 2011)

>>>> I prefer not to use a film type finish on the inside such as lacquer, poly, wipe on poly, etc. It will eventually fail.

You don't want to use lacquer or shellac on top of poly or other oil based or waterborne finish. Alcohol is a solvent for those finishes and the thinner in lacquer, shellac and waterborne will cause those finishes to quickly fail.


----------



## HLW (Nov 19, 2008)

I've used Mike Mahoney's walnut oil for such items. You can also buy walnut oil at your local grocery store too.It might be a little cheaper and in a larger bottle too.If you are selling the bowls or giving them as gifts you can tell the recipient they can continue using walnut oil as needed and it's food safe.:thumbsup:


----------



## Burb (Nov 30, 2012)

saculnhoj said:


> I'm certainly not an expert on this but have done a lot of research and listened to what is said on the forums. I've turned a lot of bowls and fair number of goblets but they aren't for use, or occasional use. I prefer not to use a film type finish on the inside such as lacquer, poly, wipe on poly, etc. It will eventually fail. It won't hurt you. It just basically plastic and we eat out of plastic spoons, coffee cups etc.
> The last set of goblets I made for a wedding which would be used occasionally but mostly they are decorative I used Mike Mahoney's Walnut oil. Walnut oil tends to penetrate a little and is a hardening oil so it won't go bad with age. If you only use one or two layers it's not really built up and so should last a pretty good while. His oil has had the allergen removed so it is food and allergy safe. My only problem with it is from a sales point of view. When asked what finish and you say walnut oil. If they are allergic they are unlikely to buy it even if you explain that it is allergy safe. Other than that I love the stuff.


John,

For my clarification and since I suck at finishing (honest personal assessment) do you use the Mahoney's Walnut Oil on the entire piece or just the inside? And you use 2 coats only? How long do you wait between coats for drying, etc? Thanks in advance.

Side questions: Are you still doing demo's for turning clubs? I ask as our club president just asked if anyone had any recommendations on guest turners and your name came to my mind.

Thanks for info, 

Mark


----------



## saculnhoj (May 18, 2015)

It depends on how I want the piece to look to justify how many coats I use. I usually apply a coat each morning and evaluate how much sheen I want. If you want a glossy but very natural look you need probably 4 to 8 coats depending on the wood and how fine you sand. For a user bowl I usually only put one or two coats on the inside. Maybe 4 or more on the outside depending on what I want it to look like. You have to remember if they actually use it and wash it the gloss will dissappear pretty quickly and replaced by more of a patina.
I do still do demos but I've quit traveling long distance. If it takes more than about 6 or 8 hours to get there I don't do it any more. Just too hard on me. I live in middle Tennessee.


----------

