Finish?

[300winmag]

I'm looking for a semi gloss finish for my bowl turnings. Any thoughts? I'm using Tried & true now but the look is rather bland. I don't want it to look like a high gloss polyurinate finish. I've tried tongue oil & mineral spirits. I've tried Danish oil....but...not impressed. And it needs to be a finish that a salad can be served on.

Suggestions???

Freddy

[doragus]

I like the type of finish you mention and the method I use is not too glossy and looks good on most woods. I use a relatively easy three-step process which finishes the bowl while it is still on the lathe and literally takes just a few minutes once sanding is one. I sand to 400 grit.
Step 1 is to coat the surface thoroughly with a home-made “abrasive” paste and polish it off at around 1200 RPM. I just use kitchen paper towel to apply and polish all my finish.
Step 2, turn down to around 800 RPM and coat the bowl in bees wax (just use ordinary hard bees wax – grab a lump and rub it over the turning bowl. The wax will stick to the surface.) Make sure it covers the whole surface. Then, with the paper towel, work the bees wax in at around 1200 RPM. You will find it melts and it’s not hard to get an even coating. You don’t need the coating to be thick and it will “melt” into the wood surface. In effect, the wax is acting a bit like a friction polish.
Step 3, turn down to 800 RPM again and thinly coat with a home-made orange oil wax paste finish. Turn up to 1400 RPM and polish it off with paper towel. That’s it! You can use the orange oil paste to refresh the surface from time-to-time.
To ensure the bowls are “food safe” check the ingredients you get for the finishing pastes below to be sure they are food safe.
My abrasive paste is simply 4 parts mineral oil (or unscented baby oil), 1 part bees wax and 1 part diatomaceous earth (DE also known as Tripoli). You can find DE and bees wax on Ebay. Please only use PURE AUSTRALIAN BEES WAX – there are cheaper imports but I’m not sure how “pure” they are for food safe bowls. Melt the ingredients in a pot set in a saucepan of hot water stirring as it melts. Careful as these ingredients are flammable hence the bain marie (double saucepan). When melted and mixed, take off the heat and continue to stir periodically until it has set to a soft paste. If you don’t stir while it is setting the DE will settle to the bottom giving the paste an uneven texture.
My orange oil paste is simply 10 parts orange oil and 4 parts bees wax. Melt it as for the abrasive paste and let it set. You don’t need to stir as it cools. I’m sure other oils could substitute for the orange oil but I like it and it is easily available online and even at the dreaded Bunnings.
Cooking the pastes sounds a bit fiddly but it is quick and easy when you get into it. I only make relatively small quantities at a time but both will store well so you could cook up larger quantities if you wanted.
Note that the quantities of the ingredients for the pastes are by weight, not volume so weigh them out on a kitchen scale. The proportions I use produce pastes of the right consistency to easily apply and polish.
Well worth a try.

[Picko]

He'll probably have a job finding "PURE AUSTRALIAN BEES WAX" on the East coast of the USA. :D

[doragus]

He'll probably have a job finding "PURE AUSTRALIAN BEES WAX" on the East coast of the USA. :D

DUUUUUHHHHH!!!! Missed the location.
I guess he won't find a Bunnings either. Try Home Depot for the orange oil and pure USA beeswax is probably safe enough.

[Old Croc]

I'm looking for a semi gloss finish for my bowl turnings. Any thoughts? I'm using Tried & true now but the look is rather bland. I don't want it to look like a high gloss polyurinate finish. I've tried tongue oil & mineral spirits. I've tried Danish oil....but...not impressed. And it needs to be a finish that a salad can be served on.

Suggestions???

Freddy
Freddy, the finishes you have available over there will be totally different to what we have here. I am surprised to hear that you are not happy with Danish Oil. I only use 2 finishes on my work, 90% gloss precat spray lacquer or DO. DO is a long process to get the best finish, I usually do a coat every day for up to 10 days to get it right.
Rgds,
Crocy.