I have used used walnut oil on almost all of my salad bowls. However a friend cannot abide the smell of walnut oil, even after it has fully cured. What are the non-smelly options?
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Alternative to Walnut Oil for Salad Bowls
- Thread starter Dennis J Gooding
- Start date
I doubt there are any organic oils that don't have some odor. The other curing oils would be boiled linseed oil and tung oil, as you already know. Perhaps your friend could tolerate oils that had a generally considered pleasant smell, such as Howard's Feed n Wax which has a very pleasant citrus odor, though it's not a very hard or durable 'finish'. Or you could use d-limonene as a thinning solvent, as it also has a very pleasant citrus aroma that is stronger than the underlying oil. In my experience, the D-limonene aroma unfortunately doesn't last as long as the smell of the underlying oil, which might still be a problem for someone as sensitive as your friend.
Dennis I never liked Walnut oil, it has this rancid smell to it after a while and it takes forever to cure, weeks if not months, and even then it is a soft finish, barely harder than a hard wax, it's OK if you like that, I don't.
So I do and have used there Polymerized Tung Oil for many years, and yes there is the initial smell of the thinner that is used, because the heating of the oil to partially polymerize it, makes it too thick to easily apply.
The Tung oil changes by the reaction with the oxygen and so it is not an oil anymore, the thinners used will evaporate in due course, and there you have a hard finish that has no oil smell, it is my goto finish.
So I do and have used there Polymerized Tung Oil for many years, and yes there is the initial smell of the thinner that is used, because the heating of the oil to partially polymerize it, makes it too thick to easily apply.
The Tung oil changes by the reaction with the oxygen and so it is not an oil anymore, the thinners used will evaporate in due course, and there you have a hard finish that has no oil smell, it is my goto finish.
Thanks Leo. Is there a particular brand and source that you can recommend? I need only a small quantity as I turn few salad bowls these days.
Linseed oil cures in the same manner as tung oil. This is the only brand of linseed oil I'd use, because they have no metallic curing/drying agents like the commonly bought stuff. Tried & True, three different blends that are all natural.
https://www.triedandtruewoodfinish.com/products/
Rockler sells a pint of pure tung oil (again, no drying agent added, so cure time takes longer, give it a couple-few weeks for a full and proper cure before food contact) for not much cash that has worked well for me over the years.
https://www.rockler.com/rockler-s-tung-oil
Both oils, do not flood the surface. Light coats, let it soak in, then lots of rag buffing while spinning, and give it a full day until repeating a couple more times.
Another idea- while spinning on the lathe, hold a little beeswax against the wood and melt it into the wood really well with firm rag pressure. I'd aim for only penetrated wax and not anything left on the surface. Same with the oils.
I think any of these will serve very well, and the oils are both proper curing oils that will never go rancid.
Lastly, I'm not a fan of food/medical grade mineral oil (few bucks at any pharmacy). It does not cure and it will wash away at the first washing.
https://www.triedandtruewoodfinish.com/products/
Rockler sells a pint of pure tung oil (again, no drying agent added, so cure time takes longer, give it a couple-few weeks for a full and proper cure before food contact) for not much cash that has worked well for me over the years.
https://www.rockler.com/rockler-s-tung-oil
Both oils, do not flood the surface. Light coats, let it soak in, then lots of rag buffing while spinning, and give it a full day until repeating a couple more times.
Another idea- while spinning on the lathe, hold a little beeswax against the wood and melt it into the wood really well with firm rag pressure. I'd aim for only penetrated wax and not anything left on the surface. Same with the oils.
I think any of these will serve very well, and the oils are both proper curing oils that will never go rancid.
Lastly, I'm not a fan of food/medical grade mineral oil (few bucks at any pharmacy). It does not cure and it will wash away at the first washing.
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I have used both Hope's and milk paint brand tung oil with good results. Both can be bought in smaller bottles off amazon.
I will second Steve use of Tried and True oil finish. I usually order it from Lee Valley.
If your friend is actually going to mix dressing in the bowl(s) then just leave them naked. The oils in the dressing will serve the same purpose as what you'd apply. Then he's using a product he definitely likes. For us, oiling bowls serves little purpose other than keeping them looking nice before selling or gifting; the protection is minimal.
A super-light oil in scent and body is sesame oil - perhaps that's an option if he doesn't intend to mix salads in the bowl(s). Or even dietary flax oil but I find it heavy bodied and not as pleasant to work with as tung oil.
A super-light oil in scent and body is sesame oil - perhaps that's an option if he doesn't intend to mix salads in the bowl(s). Or even dietary flax oil but I find it heavy bodied and not as pleasant to work with as tung oil.
I do get the Polymerized Tung Oil from Lee Valley
The pure Tung oil and the Polymerized Tung Oil have no metallic or other drying material in them
The pure Tung oil takes a lot longer to polymerize, though not as long as Walnut oil or even heated linseed oil.
Make sure you have the bowl and oil in a warm place, if cold the polymerizing will not happen, follow the instructions that come with the oil.
I buy from Sutherland Welles. I believe I read somewhere that they’re the suppliers for Lee Valley.
I have been using Macadamia Nut oil as Walnut oil is practically unobtainable here in South Africa. macadamia oil is sold here as a replacement for Canola and Sunflower oils . It works very well and have had not problems so far.
Hmm, never noticed any residual smell from the walnut oil. I guess that in part, that may depend on which brand you use. I use the Doctor's Woodshop oil. Other oils I have heard of using, flax seed oil, grape seed oil, and even olive oil. I had heard a number of times, when I first started that olive oil will go rancid. Ran into a guy at a show once and that was all he put on his bowls. When I asked him about the rancid problem he commented that he never had any problems with that. So, why the claim? Best guess for me is oil that is left on the surface. If you can 'feel' any build up at all on your bowls and plates, then it is past time to give the bowl a good washing, and that means a good scrubby pad and soap, or lemon and salt. Any food build up on a bowl, no matter what it is from, can and will go sour. This is one other reason why I don't use bowls with 'defects' in them if I am expecting them to experience daily use. Any little hole, either from knots, cracks, glue fills, or even tear out, leave tiny hidey holes for gunk to get into and then start growing nasty stuff....
If nothing else, mineral oil does do a little for the bowls. Some people leave their work bare and let natural oils do the seasoning...
robo hippy
If nothing else, mineral oil does do a little for the bowls. Some people leave their work bare and let natural oils do the seasoning...
robo hippy
A word of caution about BLO. When used on light color wood like maple the finish looks good after completion. Wait 5-10 years ad the maple turns a ugly orange. I'm not sure about woods like aspen, sycamore, etc. If thefinish contains BLO I would not use it on a light color wood. Allyn
Dennis:
I use the Doctor's friction walnut oil on salad bowls and get good consistent results and there is no smell. The only way that I can get consistent cures with any of the other walnut oils is to put the vessel in the oven overnight (don't soak it...150-180 degrees) to cure it...and I have not noticed any smell once I have a cure this way.
I use Mahoney's Walnut Oil on all of my food use products. Dries fast and has no odor and is safe for those with nut allergies.
OK, so I had to go grab one of my bowls done long long ago and see if I could smell anything. If I put my nose right up to it and touch it with the end of my nose and take a deep breath I think I get a slight whiff of walnut oil. On some nothing. Hard to be sure but I certainly don't smell wood like I did before it was oiled. My wife has a very very strong sense of smell and hasn't mentioned it before but I do know that she can smell things that I can't.
I also use Doctor’s walnut oil/wax finish. Cures quickly, no smell after a day or so.
Some people have a much more keen sense of smell than others.
We came in the door and my wife imediately said she smelled gas. I smelled nothing even when I investigated all the gas fittings in the basement. Gas company arrived and found and fixed the micro leak where I'd been sniffing.
If I open the low odor mineral spirits in the basement, she will routinely comment about it in the kitchen.
So @Dennis J Gooding you just may have to make some test pieces for your friend to sniff if you want to find something he can't smell.
We came in the door and my wife imediately said she smelled gas. I smelled nothing even when I investigated all the gas fittings in the basement. Gas company arrived and found and fixed the micro leak where I'd been sniffing.
If I open the low odor mineral spirits in the basement, she will routinely comment about it in the kitchen.
So @Dennis J Gooding you just may have to make some test pieces for your friend to sniff if you want to find something he can't smell.
This is true, and some people tend to complain more than others, too!.....(Probably most of us know someone like that
)@Dennis J Gooding
I have used some Lemon Oil Wax, which has a lemony smell to it. In this video at 2:20 the Lemon Oil Wax is used over the top of the Mahoney's Walnut Oil. It's probably replacing one smell for another, and it may be of interest to your customer.
-----odie-----