Bowl Finishing

[AngryRhino]

Greetings All,

I've been doing an extensive amount of research lately on a good solid bowl finish for a display bowl (Ie/ will never be eaten out of, etc.)

I've kind of narrowed things down to wipe-on poly and shellac. (Though I'm open to other ideas.) I actually tried some Watco Wipe-On Poly (Gloss) on a few bowls, and I'm honestly not sure if I really like the "plasticy" look. I was hoping for more like "glass."

I applied the Wipe-On poly as instructed, 3 coats, sanding lightly in between coats (no sanding on the final coat.) I waited the instructed 4 hours between coats.

Specifically, I'm looking for something that's going to be relatively durable, and glassy (while protecting the base wood.) I may be asking too much, but I'd also LOVE it if it didn't take forever to cure / have high probability of screwing it up.

What do you more experienced bowl turners use on "showy" bowls? What's your process?

 

[lorbay]

Here is what I use on all my bowls that are not going to be eaten out of.
Millie's All Purpose Penetrating Tung Oil - Sutherland Welles, Ltd, - Wood Finishing Products
For my salad bowls I use General Salad Bowl oil finish.
I use a diluted sanding sealer first on all bowls.
Lin

 

[Jim Burr]

Used for serving purposes or not...ALL finishes are food safe once cured. I've been using Formby's Tung Oil Finish...about 3 coats. Then a few coats of WOP satin. The oil helps pop the grain and the WOP adds nice depth.

 

[BayouPenturner]

I use a mixture of beeswax, shellac, and boiled lindseed oil equal parts to finish bowls. Wipe-on-poly also works well.

 

[monophoto]

It's not clear to me what the difference is between 'glassy' and 'plasticky'.

But in general, once we set aside the non-issue of 'food safe', it seems to me that the choice of finish is sort of like the 'boxers versus briefs' argument - it comes down to what you prefer.

Glossy hard finishes retain the visual beauty of the wood, but not necessarily the tactile beauty. I use glossy hard finishes (WOP, etc) on things that need to withstand physical abuse - pens, bottle stoppers, etc. For show pieces, I prefer finishes that are less 'shell-like'. Pure tung oil is nice, as are the various oil-varnish combinations (teak oil, Danish oil, tung-oil finish). I have a shop-made lacquer-based friction polish that is very nice on decorative pieces and that provides more physical protection than penetrating oil finishes alone. A shellac-based friction polish is also nice. For utility items in the shop (tool handles, fixtures and jigs), I like a simple BLO-wax finish.