Food safe wax and protection

[morpheus83uk]

Hello!

I have started to sell bowls and I am applying mineral oil on the inside of the bowls so they are food safe. However I am looking to improve this finish to be more hard wearing, glossy, finger print resistant so they last along time for the buyer.

During my travels of asking people and the internet of wisdom I have found the following:

Pharmaceutical grade mineral oil needs to be reapplied and is only a sheen on the wood and looks dull to the rest of the finishes.

Hampshire sheen high gloss finish has Carnuba wax and microcrystalline which brings out the high gloss, is food safe and resists finger prints. I am assuming the Carnuba gives the gloss a hard wearing finish and has a higher melting point to human temperatures like the microcrystalline or that's what the microcrystalline brings to this combo..

I have been told about a beeswax and mineral oil is a good food safe finish but I think this maybe better than the oil on its own but it's soft so wouldn't resist fingerprints and would coke off easily? There are also various recipes on this on the internet so if this is any good as a finish then any advice on the recipe would be appreciated! Also I keep finding cosmetic grade beeswax and googling suggests this is not food grade but seems to still come up when specifying food grade beeswax so I am a bit confused if it is or isn't safe food grade items!

I then found this thing called wax it all which is from the states and contains food grade mineral oil, Carnuba wax and beeswax and supposedly gives a good hard wearing finish! Has anyone ever used this? Is it any good?

I mean at this point I am thinking could there be any hard in using the mineral oil as a base and a few days later applying the beeswax and then the Hampshire sheen high gloss to cover all bases? Or is that just majorly overkill?

Thanks in advance for any help given! This food safety thing is a minefield and I want to ensure I get it right and that the finish is good and if used in a practical sense the areas food will touch would be well preserved and not cause any issues!

James

[Twisted Trees]

Food safe is a minefield, especially if you are going to make a cocktail of finishes.

General rule is Mineral Oil never dries, it stays liquid so really needs re-applying after every wash.
Bees wax has a melting point  of around 40° but a much lower softening and tacky point, so it takes fingerprints and collects dust at way below that melting point. it's low melting point however makes it very easy to apply.
Carnauba and Microcrystalline have much higher melting points so resist dust and fingerprints, but really need machinery to apply (easy on a lathe, but doing a table top with elbow power not so easy!)

None of the above are "Food Safe" that is an accreditation that has to show the supply chain through production to packaging. and then be tested. So your best bet is to buy the product that someone else has gone through the trouble of getting certified.

Wax over mineral oil makes no sense as the oil will stay liquid stopping the wax from bonding to the timber, but that aside using 2 finishes means you may need to rely on 2 food safe certifications, making more problems unnecessary for yourself.

I like Hampshire Sheen High Gloss it is food and toy safe certified and effective, 3 coats gives a great glossy finish.

EDIT! Other brands are available but I don't have any objective data on comparisons or use enough to bother trying them all.

[Bill21]

I’d use a pure drying oil. Ones from the supermarket are obviously food safe but do take a while to dry.
My local supermarket offers Linseed Oil (Flax Seed) Hemp Oil and Walnut Oil.  It has been suggested that Walnut Oil may not be a good choice for those with a nut allergy but once polymerised seems unlikely?

You can lighten the above oils, should you want to, by leaving them in sunlight for a year or so in sealed glass containers. This is apparently what they do to produce Artists Linseed Oil?

[Twisted Trees]

I’d use a pure drying oil. Ones from the supermarket are obviously food safe but do take a while to dry.
My local supermarket offers Linseed Oil (Flax Seed) Hemp Oil and Walnut Oil.  It has been suggested that Walnut Oil may not be a good choice for those with a nut allergy but once polymerised seems unlikely?

You can lighten the above oils, should you want to, by leaving them in sunlight for a year or so in sealed glass containers. This is apparently what they do to produce Artists Linseed Oil?

Bill you are getting mixed up between "Food Safe" certified and safe to eat. Practically the same but liability wise very different. Also raw flax oil can take between 2 to 10 weeks between coats, I am not that organised! Food and toy safe certified danish oil 2 coats in 20 minutes more 24 hours later.

[Bill21]

Bill you are getting mixed up between "Food Safe" certified and safe to eat.

No I’m not. I just suggested what I’d use for bowls intended for food.
I’m well aware of the drying times, that’s why I mentioned it. A well known bowl turner I read about some years ago also chooses to use pure oils rather than commercial products but it’s a personal choice.

[Twisted Trees]

I don't disagree with you Bill (except the drying time would clog up my workspace) I was just pointing out the very distinct difference between edible and "certified food safe"

Probably much more common sense in the UK, but if you happen to sell a bowl for food use in Canada it is illegal unless it is a "certified food safe finish" as opposed to an edible oil, but then they don't allow spalting inclusions or cracks either which I am fine with for "dry food use" e.g. a fruit bowl rather than a salad bowl.
 

[Bill21]

Some words of wisdom on the topic from a well respected Bowl Turner.

https://www.robin-wood.co.uk/wood-craft-blog/2009/12/14/what-is-the-best-oil-for-treating-wood/

I used some Walnut Oil on a spoon and it took a couple of weeks to dry but the wood felt lovely in the hand.