Salad bowl refinishing

[sharpisgood]

I found a great old wooden salad bowl (16"/40cm) at a garage sale recently and would like to refinish it. I do love old finishes, but this one is just too far gone - time to start over. I'm hesitant to use something even like "Ready-Strip Pro and Citrus Strip," which is safer than most strippers, because of worries over potential leftover residues in the wood that might leach into the food later. I could always just skip the stripping and go at it with some heavy sandpaper, but that can be a real PITA.

Ideas?

James

[angrybob]

James, You could try using a cabinet scraper to remove the old finish. Paint stores may carry a curved scraper that would suit your needs. The sort of scraper I'm refering to is often available in hardware stores for about 8.00 and is about the size of an index card. If you have a piece of an old handsaw blade you can easily make one from that too. You would still be required to do finish sanding after you scraped the surface. Scrapers are commercially available in curved shapes. You can easily file one to match the curves of your bowl though.

I found this article with a quick search, there are many more, but it illustrates the basic
concept. How to use a cabinet scraper The edge of the scraper will have to be sharp....at right angles to the body of the scraper. This is usually done with a mill file and long gentle strokes , but you can do the same thing with a small sharpening stone. A burr is then raised by running a harder object, such as the round shank of a drill bit down the edge tipped at angled about 10 degrees. I'd suggest trying the scraper without the burr first as it may work well enough for you and it's difficult to raise a proper burr on curved surface.

[tessa]

what about getting in there with some sand and a little water mixed together and rubbing it with a cloth to give it a good rubbin , or you could you use rock salt and cause the friction thing that way, then give it a good rinse out and use a little olive oil to rub in to the wood and give it a really nice finish , then its sealed and seasoned as well and all you need to do is not add mayo based salads to the bowl , and every time you use it clean it with a light damp cloth to preserve the wood

[foodpump]

Scrapers are good, so is a drill with a sandpaper flap wheel, nothing coarser than 120 grit, then afterwards maybe by hand with 220 grit.

Once you get it clean stay away from film finishes--anything that dries hard. Best bet would be walnut oil. All-natural, easy to apply, and most importantly easy to re-apply. n

[boar_d_laze]

Disagree on using food oils as wood finishes. Even the ones that don't get gummy eventually go rancid and start to smell. Best choice, IMO (and not just mine) is mineral oil. Cheap, enduring, food-grade, not harmful, easy to apply and reapply, you can get it from the drugstore, and it will help keep you "regular." What more can you ask?

There's an English company, Behlen, which makes a "natural" finish for wood, food prep surfaces that's got more gloss and seal than food oils or mineral oils and is supposed to be completely safe.

BDL

[MikeLM]

Pay attention to BDL- USP mineral is the recommended finish for wooden cutting boards since it does not form a film or become rancid- and a well-sanded bowl should be no different. It's also cheap at any pharmacy or grocery store. If you get the old finish really well removed (and finish sand the wood), then follow a new-cutting-board schedule: once a day for a week, once a week for a month, and then about once a month as long as you own it. Wipe the oil down well immediately after applying, every time.

Being lazy, I like the flap-sander idea.

Mike

[buzzard767]

Originally Posted by boar_d_laze

Best choice, IMO (and not just mine) is mineral oil. Cheap, enduring, food-grade, not harmful, easy to apply and reapply, you can get it from the drugstore, and it will help keep you "regular." What more can you ask?
BDL

Agreed. You can enhance somewhat by adding a little bee's wax to the mineral oil, heat so that it goes into solution (it will stay in solution), and spreading on a newly sanded surface.