Food safe finish for touch up

[Elliot Wheelwright]

I am new to this forum and really only have one question for which I seek an answer. My wife has a large bowl turned in NC and now in use as a salad bowl in MA.
A mouse has chewed through the finish on the bowl in a couple of small spots, and I want to reseal the spots to prevent water or salad oils from penetrating into the wood.
The current finish is clear and hard, not an oil, and might or might not be polyurethane.
Does anyone have any suggestions? And if the recommended solution is the polyurethane, should it be oil or latex based? My concern is food safety.
Thank you, in advance, for your help.
Elliot

 

[Brian Gustin]

As a general rule, most all finishes are food-safe once cured, so Polyurethane can work - problem may come in if using with metal utensils that can chip out the finish. There are other clear hard finishes , some take far more work than others. Myself, I usually finish with an all-natural linseed oil & beeswax finish, which can be touched up every so often with a bit of beeswax or mineral oil, but then I don't care much for the "glassy" look of poly.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Depending on the existing finish you will need to properly prep the surface for the repair so that the new finish bonds to the old finish.
Shellac is one of those finishes that can be repaired easily, and the old finish will bond readily to the new finish. Determining what the existing finish is will make the repair easier to accomplish. You might try several types of compounds mineral spirits, acetone, denatured alcohol, to see what softens into the finish.

 

[Doug Freeman]

The easiest is to rub some mineral oil on the spots. Let it set wet, soak in, repeat. Will need re-application periodically. It will keep other liquids from soaking in as long as you keep re-applying - the mineral oil never dries/cures. It continues to soak in and get wiped off the surface. Grocery store walnut oil (help with the brand please) can also be used in the same way, and will eventually cure.

The other approach is to determine what the existing finish is, and repair. The repair method differs depending on the finish.

 

[Marvin Jones]

I studied walnut oil when I first started looking for that do all finish. I found you really need to be careful when buying it, so many products are called walnut oil. It needs to be raw, uncooked pure walnut oil. The problem I had with it is the drying or curing time, which is a couple of weeks usually. If we are talking about food preparation walnut oil that is.

Our local wally world does not carry it, but can order it in, of course our wally world has evolved from one of the best sources of about any merchandise to one Sam would fire everyone there if he was still living, including the people who have trouble gathering the carts in the parking lot because it's hard to do one handed...(other hand carries the phone)

I would be tempted to thin oil base poly and wipe or spray it over the area with a couple light coats but I'm no expert. There are those here that can guide you on figuring out what your finish is...

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Did a quick search and found several references on identifying a finish but I like this one best .
Identifying Your existing Finish

 

[Mike Harman]

At the menz shed I belong to we do alot of retoration work on furniture and bowls etc. We use either canola oil or water based poly as both are non allergenic
the oil can be touched up every now and then if you so wish.

 

[robo hippy]

The walnut oil from both Mike Mahoney, and Mike Meredith, aka The Doctor's Woodshop, are 'heat treated' which breaks down the proteins that can cause nut allergies, and are food safe. Both also include carnuba wax which is also food safe. Been using mostly The Doctor's stuff for years since he is also from Oregon... The stuff in the salad oil sections at the big box stores is not quite the same thing. The walnut oil will cure and harden, which vegetable oils will not do. The vegetable oils can go rancid, but as near as I can tell, that seems to come from 'build up' of gunk on the surface of the bowl. I don't want any type of surface finish on my bowls. It always ends up cracking, chipping off, or peeling off, and then has to be repaired.

robo hippy