Food safe finishes

[Wendy105]

Hi there, my first post..... Wanting to know what is the best finish to use on a Cheese board, just made it... out of 'Fiddleback'
Needs to be food safe and enhance timber grain. Thanks to anyone out there who can offer information to this newbie....

[rod1949]

G'day Wendy and welcome. I can't help but I'm interested in what is offered. Someone will come along shortly.

[Chesand]

Food safe Plus by our "benevolent dictator"

[Kuffy]

liquid paraffin available at your local chemist (used as a mild laxative)

[Bobpol2]

Rice Bran Oil, used for cooking, nice and thin, soaks in well and almost no odor when fresh.
odour disappears after drying off.
i have used it on chopping boards, pizza servers, cheese boards etc for a few years without issues.

regards
bob

[Xanthorrhoeas]

I use UBeaut Hard Shellac. It dries quickly, enhances the timber beautifully and, once it has fully set ("crosslinked") it is heat and moisture resistant. That does not include putting it in the dishwasher!! But a quick wash off in the sink and dry with a cloth seems to do no harm at all. I use it on cheese boards, wooden carved platters and coasters and am very happy with it. I keep a small container diluted ready for use with a small "rubber" (piece of fine cotton cloth wrapped around a ball of cotton wool and tied off at the top) in the mix. When I want to finish something I put on disposable rubber gloves, open the container and squeeze the rubber almost dry. A few wipes over the surface, let it dry (a few seconds to a minute) repeat a couple of times then put aside until it hardens. If the grain stands up after the first coat then give it a quick rub over with wet and dry sandpaper (I use 1000 grit) before you re-coat. If the grain really became rough you might need to go to 320 or 400 grit to smooth it off.

I find the polished products are useable within a week here in Queensland though the instructions say it takes 3 weeks to fully crosslink. The shellac can be ordered on-line and comes in a convenient bottle of made-up concentrate, just dilute with metho before use. The easiest product I have found. I often put a coat of food safe wax over the surface when I have finished polishing.

I have no financial or other connection with the manufacturer or supplier - just a happy customer.

[Bedford]

Food safe Plus by our "benevolent dictator"

Wendy, you can find it here, FoodSafe Plus

[Arron]

I use 'skydd' from IKEA.
SKYDD Wood treatment oil, indoor use - IKEA

I think it's just mineral oil.
Cheers
Arron

[BobL]

Isn't it time the responses to this question was made a sticky?

[Robson Valley]

Oven-baked vegetable oil finish. Cannot be washed off.

[Wendy105]

Thanks Arron. this looks like it gives a great finish and dead easy to apply

[Wendy105]

Thanks for this info, and guess what, it is available close to home. winner winner..... cheers..

[Wendy105]

Thanks so much for responses out there.... useful info forwarded on... great

[Robson Valley]

I carved a "wet dish" for my kitchen. Birch, maybe 5" x 12" x 2". Holder for wet scrub pads, sink stoppers and so on.
Melted beeswax & painted it on. Into a 325 oven for 5 minutes. Wood air heats up, wax remelts. As wood air cools, sucks the
wax (or the oil of your choice) down into the wood. Did 70 spoons and 30 forks with olive oil that way for 3mins 30 sec by the clock.
If you reheat one of my spoons beyond 325, you could get the oil to move. Won't and can't move in boiling soup.
No hocus-pocus, just Charles' Law from gas physics.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

As this does seem to be a recurrent question it might be good if proponents of different food-safe finishes can also provide some photos of items they have finished with a food safe product. That way, everybody knows not only what is food safe but also what it looks like. Some people will love the oiled look, others may prefer a polished look. This way they get to be better informed about the choice and the results they will get. (Photos are pretty basic phone photos.)

The Hard Shellac looks like this on a couple of items:

Blackwood and Huon Pine coasters with Hard Shellac.JPG Upper: Blackwood coaster, lower: Huon Pine coaster, both with Hard Shellac

Northern Silky Oak platter and spatula with Hard Shellac.JPGCarved wooden platter, laminated Northern Silky Oak, Hard Shellac finish