Clear, Foodsafe sealant

[IntrepidStu]

Does anyone know of a colourless sealant I can use for spoons and kuksa's. Ive just finished a Kuksa in White Poplar and used Flaxseed oil (had to puncture and use those little squeezy capsule thingys), but it has turned VERY yellow. The spoons I have done did not react in this way, so it must be a characteristic of the wood.
Cheers for any advice.(INSTRUCTIONS APPRECIATED)
Stu.

 

[scanker]

Ikea do a clear mineral oil for use on chopping boards etc.

I've used Tung oil in the past - it has got a colour but not too much. Tung and Danish oil are available from www.axminster.co.uk

 

[leon-1]

Does anyone know of a colourless sealant I can use for spoons and kuksa's. Ive just finished a Kuksa in White Poplar and used Flaxseed oil (had to puncture and use those little squeezy capsule thingys), but it has turned VERY yellow. The spoons I have done did not react in this way, so it must be a characteristic of the wood.
Cheers for any advice.(INSTRUCTIONS APPRECIATED)
Stu.

Most oils will darken wood, but Tung oil is considerably lighter and is a food safe oil, it can take a while to harden out, but the results you get from it are very nice. It actually states on the tin that it is suitable for bowls and chopping boards and the like IIRC.

You can normally find it made by a company called Liberon and sold online at Axminster Power Tool Center, I hope this helps,

Leon

 

[leon-1]

Ikea do a clear mineral oil for use on chopping boards etc.

I've used Tung oil in the past - it has got a colour but not too much. Tung and Danish oil are available from www.axminster.co.uk

Very Good Neil, you beat me to it

 

[IntrepidStu]

Ikea do a clear mineral oil for use on chopping boards etc.

I've used Tung oil in the past - it has got a colour but not too much. Tung and Danish oil are available from www.axminster.co.uk

I actualy have some Danish oil, but somebody told me it is FAR from food safe.

 

[leon-1]

Don't confuse Tung oil that scanker was talking about and that I linked directly to with Danish oil, it is not the same thing, Liberon actually produce Danish oil as well as a seperate entity.

 

[IntrepidStu]

Don't confuse Tung oil that scanker was talking about and that I linked directly to with Danish oil, it is not the same thing, Liberon actually produce Danish oil as well as a seperate entity.

So, is Danish oils safe then, or what??

 

[leon-1]

So, is Danish oils safe then, or what??

Right from what I know it's to do with additives to the oils. So here is what popular wood working have to say on the matter and you can make up your own mind.

The Issue of Metallic Driers
Metallic driers are added to oil and varnish finishes to speed curing. Without driers, these finishes take many days or weeks to cure.


Lead driers were once commonly used in oil and varnish finishes, but in the 1970s it was learned that lead is highly toxic, especially to children. The problem was associated with the relatively large amount of lead contained in pigment and not with the tiny amount contained in clear finishes. Nevertheless, to be safe, lead was removed from all commonly available paints and finishes, including oils and varnishes. (Lead is still used in some specialty art and marine finishes, and labels are required to disclose its inclusion.)


Other metallic driers, including salts of cobalt, manganese, zirconium and zinc, continue to be used in all varnishes and curing-oil finishes except raw linseed oil and pure tung oil. Without these driers, these finishes cure extremely slowly.

So this gives you the same information that I have, Raw linseed oil cures over millenia and Tung oil normally over about a week at the latest.

 

[IntrepidStu]

Cheers Loen-1

 

[robin wood]

Good replies Leon,

Just to add Danish is basically a mix of tung plus thinners (white spirit) to help it penetrate better. Its much cheaper to buy your oil and thinners seperately but the thinners are poisonous though they evaporate leaving a suposedly food safe finish. My preference is to use things that are sold a food products. I would suggest walnut oil, very little colour and it cures in about the same time as linseed (2-3 months) you can use it whilst it is curing. I don't use walnut comercialy due to the problems with nut allergy.

 

[shaggystu]

toasted sesame oil, adds a lovely dark colour. bit of a serendipitous discovery quite a while ago and stuck with it since. it's pretty thin so it tends to soak in well and leaves very little flavour on the wood. i must admit though that i've never used anything like danish oil or tung oil, i always just find something from the kitchen for finishing anything that'll come into contact with food, and usually something from the shed for anything that won't.

cheers,
stuart

 

[leon-1]

Good replies Leon,

Just to add Danish is basically a mix of tung plus thinners (white spirit) to help it penetrate better. Its much cheaper to buy your oil and thinners seperately but the thinners are poisonous though they evaporate leaving a suposedly food safe finish. My preference is to use things that are sold a food products. I would suggest walnut oil, very little colour and it cures in about the same time as linseed (2-3 months) you can use it whilst it is curing. I don't use walnut comercialy due to the problems with nut allergy.

Thanks for the tip on Walnut Oil Robin, I had heard it before, but to be honest had forgotten. Isn't there a chestnut oil as well that can be used?

 

[pentrekeeper]

Mineral oil, now I went to Boots and the chemist there looked up mineral oil in a huge book and it came back as "Liquid Parafin" which is made form coal and is sold as a medcine for constipation. It is a clear fairly thick liquid and is clearly safe.

 

[Wayland]

Baby oil is "Liquid Parafin" If I recall.

I have to admit I just use olive oil on any of my wood and leatherwork that needs oiling.

Cheap and food friendly. Works for me.

 

[robin wood]

Mineral oil/liquid paraffin works OK but it never sets so does not protect and waterproof the wood as well as a curing oil like walnut, tung or linseed.

Olive oil. sunflower and most other veg oils stay liquid and can go rancid quite quickly, this is more likely to happen with something that absorbs a lot of oil, a thick salad bowl, with thin stuff like spoons it is not a problem. Even if it does not go rancid it is staying liquid and so will wash out of the surface. A curing oil is better but there is a lot of sense in using what you have, particularly if you are just oiling a few small items.

Walnut is available in 250ml bottles at every supermarket, it is clear, cures, smells gorgeous and what is left over makes a great salad dressing. I warm the oil by putting the bottle in hot water for a few minutes this makes it thinner and helps it penetrate the wood but without the chemical thinners.

 

[pedrobedro]

I have to admit I just use olive oil on any of my wood and leatherwork that needs oiling.
Cheap and food friendly. Works for me.

I've been doing some spoon and spatula type whittling and just used sunflower oil on the Birch I carved. It does change the colour from stark white to a much nicer light tan so I was quite pleased with it.