Finish for dry bowls

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Austin, Texas
I have seen several bowls I have given as gifts... and they are no longer pretty. The finish is pocked or even largely gone. These aren't "art" bowls, but ones that might be used for nuts or candy or fruit.

I have tried HUT friction polish. I have tried shellac. I have tried lacquer (regular and catalyzed). I have tried water base acrylic lacquer. Even though these finishes are fine on flat work, they don't seem to last on bowls that someone else uses (out of my control).

What finish do you recommend for "gift" bowls (that will be used improperly), so that it looks good, and is durable through at least modest abuse?
 
Charlie I pretty much found the same thing. What I now use is Minwax Antique Oil about 3 coats. I put on the first coat and after it has soaked for about 10 minutes wipe off the excess. Let dry 24 hrs and put on a second coat doing just like the first. Then a third coat the same way. I buff after a couple of weeks curing. The other finish I like to use and have used it on 3 sets of salad bowls is General Finishes Seal-A-Cell followed by a top coat of Arm-R-Seal. It has held up real well on a cereal bowl I have used now for almost 2 yrs almost everyday. I have tried about everything in 3 yrs. and this is what I found that worked best for me. I e-mailed Ernie Conover and he told me he uses strictly Antique Oil. I use either antique oil or General Finishes on all my big turnings vases, bowls, etc. I use rattle can spray lacquer on most small turnings lidded boxes, ornaments, bells, etc. and that is about all I keep in the shop for finishes. Hope this helps.
 
A good penetrating oil finish as Bernie suggested is what I do with good results. Another suggestion is to print up some care instructions for each customer. I used to do this on the back of my business cards. I now use card stock. On the front I have my business name plus contact information. On the back I have care instructions. I make them about the size of a postcard.

People in general are pretty ignorant about wood and how to care for it. Don't forget to include "not dishwasher safe".:)
 
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I use Wipe-on Poly for my gift bowls (except Salad bowls) and I am sure that none has chipped or worn away. You can go as glossy as you wish or dull down with Pumice & oil the finish soaks intot he wood and becomes imbedded in the surface. I know for a fact that it resists the scratches of long fingernails reaching for pieces of candy or nuts, the grit of salted peanuts doesn't seem to have an effect.

I use Poly for most all my projects as it is so easy to have success.
 
For bowls that I figured were going to be used and washed, I've simply used mineral oil, with instructions to the owner to hit it with more oil when it starts looking dry.
 
I'm doing a small walnut box right now. This particular walnut is very dry and open grained. I put Mylands sanding sealer on and it soaked it up like a sponge. Had to put much more on to get a good surface hardness and let dry longer than normal. Today, I'll see if I can sand to a decent finish. Depends on the wood. Oil would be a disaster on this 'un.
 
Frank,I was wondering why oil would not be a good finish.I turn a lot of dry walnut and all I do is soak it in oil then let it dry a few days,then maybe put on another coat let it set aside for about a week or so,then use the beal buff on it,finish with carnuba wax and I get a great shine.Depending on how high of a gloss I want as to how fine I go in sanding.Usually about 800 then I'm done.
 
Frank,I was wondering why oil would not be a good finish.I turn a lot of dry walnut and all I do is soak it in oil then let it dry a few days,then maybe put on another coat let it set aside for about a week or so,then use the beal buff on it,finish with carnuba wax and I get a great shine.Depending on how high of a gloss I want as to how fine I go in sanding.Usually about 800 then I'm done.

Probably just ole impatient me. "Days?" I want it done now. Overnight is aggravating for me.
 
Polyurthane { could be your answer }

Charlie : I also have or had made some bowls in the past and I used high gloss spray Polyurathane and they are still looking great .The way I understand it Charlie is that theirs a certain test that the experts did and I can't prove it , They said that poly is the best in protection for wood projects in the long run . And ever since then this is about all I use when I can ..........This is my two cents ........ Marshall :thumb: :wave:
 
Marshall, I have a chip on my shoulder about polyurethane. Or maybe a chip on my tabletop.

Poly is very hard, so I use and love it for floors - little or no scratching, and we wear street shoes in the house all the time. But, years ago (when I liked Poly for everything), I finished the breakfast table with poly. As my son was growing up, it was also the table for homework and kid activities. And by the time he left for college, the table was pock marked - somehow (of course it couldn't have been him) the poly had quite a number of divots in the surface. (After he left, the number of divots didn't increase, but we know still know he couldn't have done it).

I have now refinished the table with acrylic lacquer and it looks great. Not a fair test since there is no teenager growing up at the table, but I still have the chip on my shoulder about poly on furniture.

Vaughan, Barbara - the bowl that pushed me over the edge is a sad story. (I have seen more wear than I liked on gift bowls, but this was the trigger.) A friend who is on the road a lot (and has apartments in other cities) loaned his house to a relative who was home on military leave, who used the house with some friends. When he got home just before a big Christmas party, he found ALL the liquor gone. (He had a substantial collection). And when I was helping clean up, a wooden bowl I had given him had obviously been through the dishwasher. I doubt if any instruction sheet would have done any good, even engraved on the bowl in bold print.

Bernie, I am generally impatient, but apparently have to change for bowls. The only Oil I regularly "keep in stock" is Cabot's Australian Timber Oil - primarily to use on ipe furniture. Do you know how this compares to the oils you suggested? Should I start "stocking" another oil?
 
finish for dry bowls

Unfortunately,no oil is going to hold up under what I will call idiot abuse.I don't use anything but oil on pieces that will be used on a reg bases for food or whatever,as if they do get a little beat up,usually a little recoating and some buffing they will come out of it looking nice.If it is just for display where you want a high gloss,then the laquer or polly finishes will work good.Most folks that buy my bowls for keeping food in don't want the high gloss as they know it will eventually get beat up.Some woods I don't use anything but wax,then if it get scratched up all they have to do is rebuff it.Hope this helps.

Ken
 
Bernie, I am generally impatient, but apparently have to change for bowls. The only Oil I regularly "keep in stock" is Cabot's Australian Timber Oil - primarily to use on ipe furniture. Do you know how this compares to the oils you suggested? Should I start "stocking" another oil?

As far as the Cabots Timber Oil Charlie I have never seen it or used it so I can't give you a answer about comparing.

I am pretty patient but learned this through doing 22 yrs. clock repair. You don't rush anything period while doing repairs so that has helped me a lot in wood turning. I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination and don't claim to be but will say this the more patients you have, your turnings will show it. To me it just doesn't pay to take short cuts or rush finishing.

As far as finishes go Charlie I keep Deft Lacquer, Minwax Antique Oil, General Finishes Seal-A-Cell and Arm-R-Seal.

I don't use poly much anymore especially on oily exotic woods because it will never dry.
 
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