Wood Bowl Finish Ideas

Dan Mosley

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Palm Springs, Ca
I turned this really nice looking wood bowl (see below) - I have sanded thru 400 and applied one coat of Danish oil - knocked down with 0000 and blew it off really well. Next im going to add another coat of Danish oil and let dry and knock it down again with 0000.
Im thinking about just stopping at that point and leaving it alone because it is so nice and smooth but then again I thought after knocking it down it may look better buffed out with WD and wax.............looking for ideas so please feel feel to tell me how you would finish it .............Thanks Dan
 

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For me, I have three finishes I use for bowls;

Danish oil, I soak it, sand it a bit more with a green scrubby pad, then soak it again, and by soak I mean I apply a very liberal amount of oil, dripping all over, making a fine mess. I let it dry again (24hrs) and then I sand some more, with the green scrubby pad (maybe about #600 or #800 I guess) then I just leave it. Danish oil is a hardening oil, so once it soaks into the wood and cures, you should be done for good. This leaves a satin finish that I quite like. I know that others do wax and buff Danish oil, but I find I don't like the finish it leaves, but YMMV :dunno:

Mineral Oil, this is the most basic finish I use, I just soak the oil on, leave it to dry, wipe any excess, soak it again, wipe it again. This finish is great for bowls what get used a lot, I just keep a small bottle of mineral oil in the kitchen, I can freshen up any bowl in minutes. I find this great on salad bowls. The mineral oil you can find in your pharmacy, it is sold as a laxative, I think I paid about $2 for a pint.

Shinny, if I want to put a really shinny finish on something, then I use lacquer sanding sealer, at least two coats, sanded to #400 between and then green scrubby pad (#600...?) after. I wipe it down really well and let it sit for 24hrs. I then set up my minimalist spray booth go for a rattle can lacquer finish. Light coats, and a lazy-susan to put the piece on is a key, you can turn it, spray, turn, spray, etc. I will let these pieces set for at least a week, I usually take them into the house, where it is warmer, even set it where it gets some sunlight. When I go to buff these pieces, I want the rattle can lacquer to be fully cured and hard, I then buff and wax them, the finish you get is really shiny, almost impossible to take decent pics because of the reflections. I don't use this finish much, only on my "Art" pieces.

I hope this helps.

Cheers!
 
Dan I pretty much follow what Stu does except I use Minwax Antique Oil instead of Danish oil. I also soak my items with the AO until they won't take any more. I just keep putting it on till I don't see anymore dry spots. I let it sit for 10 minutes or so then wipe off the excess and let dry for 24 hrs. I use a synthetic pad to go over it and then do it again. Soaking and letting sit for 10 minutes then wiping off the excess. I do this probably 3 times.

As far as just plain oil goes I use Mike Mahoney's walnut oil on a lot of my utility items. The other finish I have started using is the AO on utility stuff. I talked with Ernie Conover and he told me he tried several finishes and that is all he uses on anything. He said he found that AO holds up better than any other finish even on utility items.

If it is a art piece like Stu I either use gloss rattle can poly or Deft rattle can lacquer with a sanding sealer first. Sometimes with lacquer I will burnish on either 1 or 2 lb mixture of Shellac. I don't do enough pieces to justify the expense or the setup of a air sprayer for a vase or two or a couple of art items. As for wax about the only thing I do wax are my art pieces with Ren Wax. I find that beeswax or carnuba leave to many finger prints and if you get water on them they water spot bad. I will buff a few pieces starting with Tripoli then WD (on some woods but not all, like walnut) and then Ren Wax.

I have found out here in our area anyway that I do not see any difference in sales between buffed and non-buffed pieces. Maybe I would feel different if my pieces were going into a high end Gallery.

I have tried a lot of finishes throughout the last 4 yrs and have pretty much settled with the above. One finish that I am going to try that I haven't is Waterlox. One thing I don't like on bowls, vases, etc is friction polish. It is not worth the effort IMHO.

Hope this helps Dan.
 
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Sometimes after you've put several coats of Danish Oil and let them cure for a week or two you can just buff it with a dry buffing wheel and it will really take on a nice shine.
 
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