bowl finishes

What finishes are recommended for bowls to used and repeatedly washed?

Orange oil (by gilles) works a treat - I've used it on chopping boards with good results.
Its non-toxic and smells a lot better than most cooking oils. It doesn't seem to impart any flavour either.
As per other oils, regular application is still required if your washing the piece frequently.

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Ian () Robertson
"We do good turns every day"

If you don't want the aunatural type bowl with the oiled finish you would probably need to go to a brushed on finish.

Although I am not a big fan of it I would reckon if you want a durable finish that can be washed time after time then you would be just as well off using polyurethane or even better still one of the epoxy finishes. Plastic coatings that are almost impervious to everything.

Better still go to K Mart and buy some plastic bowls for the wash and wear stuff and keep the wooden ones for best.

Cheers - Neil http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/wink.gif

Is'nt it funny! For every "expert"opinion you can find another expert to state the exact opposite. Thus I was told that you should treat food containing bowls with the cheapest no-name brand cooking oil you could find on the shelves of the super market.The reason for this is that the cheap oils are a mixture of all the dregs and have lots of preservatives added to stop them going off. If you use a good quality oil,-less preservatves, more liklehood of rancidity,and olive oil is a definite no-no.
Some "experts"state the belief that wood itself has anti-bug properties(wooden chopping boards have been proved to have anti-biotic properties,and to be much easier to clean than plastic,etc.)and reccomend just a wipe out with a veg. oil before and after use,and to allow the wood to attain its own patina with regular use.
There again I have been assured that Rustins Danish Oil(for instance) conforms with the British standards for treating food containing articles as after a few days the esters etc have evaporated and the container is quite safe to use for food.Neil will probably correct me, but I understand that the same applies to Shellawax.
Now is everybody thoroughly confused??
I know I am.But then I seem to be in a permanent state of confusion these days. Regards.John H. http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/confused.gif

I have to agree with everything that John states and if you listen to opinion on diet and health and avoid everything that is unhealthy you will ultimately die from starvation.
It is an intersesting point re bottom of the line vegetable oils with preservatives and this is something that I had not considered, however, I would not advocate the use of Oleander boards with natural preservatives.

Just my 2c worth to add here in that I have used Walnut Oil witn a modicum of success in the past.The oil being a natural byproduct of a tree it has the ability to absorb in the fibres of the bowl I reckon and adds just that natural source for small peanut bowls without any uncharacteristic smells that you might find off-putting.
I do recommend that a re-coating of the same oil after washing retains that coating of (friendly)oil for endurance.
Cheers http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/smile.gif

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Johnno

I recently got the Richard Raffan videos from the library and when he finished a bowl, platter etc he would leave it turning and wipe it with a rag soaked in peanut oil, then rub a lump of beeswax over the entire surface and burnish it with a rag. If he wanted to highlight certain features such as beads he would hold the rag on that area a little longer and the beeswax would start to burn into the wood. He mentioned that almost everything he turned got this type of finish.