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Remove mineral oil & beeswax finish?

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Aug 4, 2020
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I've just made my first traditional salad bowl (of cherry wood) that I will give away to be used for food. I finished it with a few coats of mineral oil/beeswax mix, but after reading a lot more about finishes for utility bowls, I think I'd rather use Mahoney's Walnut Oil or maybe tung oil cut with citrus solvent (maybe Corey's). Is it too late, or can I remove the mineral oil by washing with soap and water or another method?
 
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Mineral oil is fine for food use. Mineral oil and the alternatives you name will all need to be renewed if the bowl is frequently washed. The walnut and tung oils will darken the wood more than the mineral oil, but all of them will affect the look to some extent. You can sand or buff off the mineral oil. If you sand I would use the last grit you used or one slightly higher one and just sand it enough to remove the oil. You can see a change in the wood between oiled and no oil. You can also apply another oil on top of the mineral oil but I'm not sure how will they would mix. If you use a micro-grit paste like Yorkshire Grit they will have mineral oil in them, I know Yorkshire Grit has mineral oil in it. I haven't had a problem with another oil, like walnut, absorbing on top of mineral oil. It soaks right in.
 
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Mineral oil is fine for food use. Mineral oil and the alternatives you name will all need to be renewed if the bowl is frequently washed. The walnut and tung oils will darken the wood more than the mineral oil, but all of them will affect the look to some extent. You can sand or buff off the mineral oil. If you sand I would use the last grit you used or one slightly higher one and just sand it enough to remove the oil. You can see a change in the wood between oiled and no oil. You can also apply another oil on top of the mineral oil but I'm not sure how will they would mix. If you use a micro-grit paste like Yorkshire Grit they will have mineral oil in them, I know Yorkshire Grit has mineral oil in it. I haven't had a problem with another oil, like walnut, absorbing on top of mineral oil. It soaks right in.
Thanks, Charles. I may just leave the mineral oil finish. I was thinking it might be nice to use a drying oil so they won't have to reapply as often, but since this one is done and looks really nice with its current finish, I may just make the change on future bowls.
 
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Darrell, I'd just leave the finish you have, and maybe give a small jar of the beeswax/mineral oil away with the bowl. I've found that doing that with cutting boards I've made and given away usually results in the recipient actually maintaining the wood correctly. I make the wax/ oil mix in larger batches and pour into small jars every couple of years so I always have some ready for gifts.
 
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Darrell, I'd just leave the finish you have, and maybe give a small jar of the beeswax/mineral oil away with the bowl. I've found that doing that with cutting boards I've made and given away usually results in the recipient actually maintaining the wood correctly. I make the wax/ oil mix in larger batches and pour into small jars every couple of years so I always have some ready for gifts.
That's a great idea, Tim. I'll do that.
 
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You've solved your problem, but I wanted to advise that I've tried using Corey's Tung Oil and have not had good results. Originally, he sent the Amazing Tung Oil product with pine resin, and the resin stayed on the surface in a gummy coating. He replaced it with Pure Tung Oil and d-limonene, which does not cause a gummy surface, but I've had trouble getting it to cure. The last bowl sat for months, without ever curing. I've used a lot of tung oil products over the years, including 100% tung oil, and never had so much trouble getting the product to cure. Corey is a good guy and YMMV.
 
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Glenn, thanks for posting that link! I've been using Lee Valley's polymerized tung oil which is more than twice as expensive, and, the LV tung oil is already cut with 50% mineral spirits.

Think I will order some from Skinboats and see how it compares.
 
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Glenn, thanks for posting that link! I've been using Lee Valley's polymerized tung oil which is more than twice as expensive, and, the LV tung oil is already cut with 50% mineral spirits.

Think I will order some from Skinboats and see how it compares.
No problem. I live in Canada and love lee valley but there stuff is expensive. As Cindy Drozda said after I sent her this link. “ it will be a good buy for clubs to get A volume buy from skin boats then distribute to members “.
 
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Since the mineral oil doesn't cure or harden at all, you can simply put the walnut oil over the mineral oil mix. I prefer the Doctor's Woodshop mix, mostly because he is also from Oregon. Beeswax is usually gone very quickly as well.

robo hippy
 
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You've solved your problem, but I wanted to advise that I've tried using Corey's Tung Oil and have not had good results. Originally, he sent the Amazing Tung Oil product with pine resin, and the resin stayed on the surface in a gummy coating. He replaced it with Pure Tung Oil and d-limonene, which does not cause a gummy surface, but I've had trouble getting it to cure. The last bowl sat for months, without ever curing. I've used a lot of tung oil products over the years, including 100% tung oil, and never had so much trouble getting the product to cure. Corey is a good guy and YMMV.

Try polymerized Tung oil. Much better product. They heat to 500f which allows the Tung oil to dry quicker.

Thanks for that, Dean and Glenn. Dean, I found your review from last year, too. Instead, I ordered polymerized tung oil and citrus solvent from Corey, and also some Mahoney's walnut oil for comparison.

Since the mineral oil doesn't cure or harden at all, you can simply put the walnut oil over the mineral oil mix. I prefer the Doctor's Woodshop mix, mostly because he is also from Oregon. Beeswax is usually gone very quickly as well.

Reed, I hadn't thought that would work, maybe sealing the liquid mineral oil under the drying oil—but maybe that wold be ok since it's oil, not water, which would cause lots of problems.
 
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