# mineral oil for finishing maple?



## kjhart0133 (Feb 4, 2009)

Hello all,

I'm making a small hard maple table for our kitchen and am trying to settle on the finish I want to apply.

I don't like polyurethane for a table top because it gets all gummy and yucky from constant contact with skin. Other varnishes aren't very durable for a table top, especially in a kitchen. I was thinking of just rubbing mineral oil all over it and letting it set for a couple of weeks and then call it done.

Can anyone weigh in on the merits or problems with using mineral oil? I know it doesn't harden up like a tung oil finish, but the maple itself is quite sturdy and will bear up well. 

Thanks for providing any info on this.

Kevin H.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

If polyurethane is getting gummy from contact from skin from handling then it just needs cleaning. The finish is nearly like a sheet of plexiglass. Mineral oil won't really give any protection to the wood. It's used primarily for cutting boards so it can be used and constantly be re-treated almost every time it's used.


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## kjhart0133 (Feb 4, 2009)

Steve,

Thanks for the reply. It has been my experience that due to the moisture, oils, acids, etc., in one's skin, repeated skin to water-based-poly contact tends to soften the poly and cause it to become gummy and to roughen over time. This distorts the finish and makes it feel, well, yucky. And it's permanent. I can't vouch for oil based poly, but I don't usually used oil based because I don't like spraying it in my shop.

I think the effect is similar to what happens when you leave a moist mug on a poly finish; you get that white ring. Add in the rubbing motion of your arms and hands and you have a problem.

Perhaps there is a high-quality water based poly that resists this problem. If you or anyone else out there know of one, please let me know. Or if you can recommend another natural finish for maple I'm interested to hear about it.

Thanks again to you and all the other fine folks on this forum who make it so interesting.

Kevin H.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

It's pretty obvious if the poly you have is softening from skin contact and leaving white rings there is something wrong with it. Only a defective finish would do that. An oil based poly is a better finish but because it yellows isn't suitable for light colored projects. Still you should expect any water based poly to hold up for what you are doing.


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## JJK (Sep 1, 2017)

You could consider a salad bowl finish. The name of the product is quite limiting but it's uses are not. It is basically an oil thinned urethane varnish. It needs a good three coats for durability, but a few more can result in a nice hand rubbed finish that is surprisingly durable. Takes a bit more time to apply than other finishes (minimum 24 hrs between coats) but may give you results you are looking for.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

I made a butcher block top for my kitchen island and coated it with a finish that was a blend of mineral oil and wax. It seemed to work well, but it does need frequent re-coating. 

Another option may be walnut oil.


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## kjhart0133 (Feb 4, 2009)

All,

Thanks for the great advice. I bought some Salad Bowl Finish and some Arm-R-Seal Finish from General Finishes. The Salad Bowl Finish arrived today and I'm going to apply it to some test pieces and see how it looks and performs. The Arm-R-Seal finish should arrive tomorrow. 

I'll report back on the results.

Kevin H.


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

I just finished a hard maple cutting board with walnut accents. This would be the typical junior high wood shop project. I used a table saw and pipe clamps to glue it together using Titebond III (food safe glue). I used a router for the edges and finger grooves. I sanded it from 60 grit down to 220 grit, after which it felt very smooth. 

The salesperson at Rockler recommended a cutting board oil finish, which is the same as food grade mineral oil. He told me to apply it, let it soak in overnight, and keep applying it every day until it would not absorb any more. 

I kept it up for a week or more. I used up about half the bottle, and still the cutting board kept soaking up the mineral oil. Finally, I decided that it had to be way too much, so I stopped. The next problem I encountered was that even though it felt silky smooth, it also felt oily. I spent the next week wiping it down on both sides, but I could not get rid of the oily feeling. Finally, in desperation, I rinsed it with water and a tiny amount of dish detergent. That cleared up the oily feel, but raised the grain. The board felt rough and somewhat sticky. I sanded it one last time with 200 grit garnet paper and called it done. 

Bottom line: I DO NOT recommend a mineral oil finish for your tabletop.


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## Jassper (Sep 13, 2017)

If your going to use Oil, use Danish Oil.







Not the best videos but just do a search. Lots of info on different ways to apply Danish oil.

This on is better,


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