HELP! Wood finishing advice for wedding

[adamt]

Hi,

I'm getting married at the end of the month and need some advice on finishing a piece of wood we are going to put cheese/crackers on. I am a total novice when it comes to wood, so please excuse my ignorance. I think the wood is pine. It is a cross section of the tree with bark stil round the edge. It is about 3cm thick. I've used a plane to get it smooth and quite even. Now I need to finish it somehow. It'd be great to have something which is relatively durable and hard wearing, but also keeps the wood looking really natural. A high gloss finish is not what I'm after. Obviously it needs to be non-toxic, able to be done by an amateur and be ready by 30th May! I'm not even sure if this is possible. I can provide any extra info if you need.

Thanks so much in anticipation!

Adam

 

[lurker]

You want some liquid paraffin
This is in no way like parafin oil !!
You can usually find it at places that sell stuff for horses as its used as a medicine
It used to be a common human medicine too

It's food safe and will give a semi Matt finish you might need to coat the wood a number of times over say a week
You can buy food safe finishes but when you read the ingredients you will see its most likely the same stuff but twice the price!

 

[marcros]

ikea also do it, which may be easier to locate.

it used to be available in old fashioned chemists, but i would struggle to find one now, and boots/lloyds dont sell it, at least in my local ones.

The good news is that the 30th is achievable!

 

[adamt]

Perfect. Thank you very much for the advice.

 

[condeesteso]

I would like to recommend tung oil. Readily available, wipe on, hardens very well and is food safe (I believe most oils are anyway). I get better results by thinning first coat about 2:1 with oil/turps. You can build as far as you like but a couple of coats will do it and be semi-matt, a few more coats builds a sheen. I used exactly that on an elm board for a big cheese board a while ago. It's quick to apply, dries far quicker than linseed etc, and finishes harder. And it's a traditional foodsafe finish (salad bowls etc).

 

[lurker]

I would like to recommend tung oil. Readily available, wipe on, hardens very well and is food safe (I believe most oils are anyway). I get better results by thinning first coat about 2:1 with oil/turps. You can build as far as you like but a couple of coats will do it and be semi-matt, a few more coats builds a sheen. I used exactly that on an elm board for a big cheese board a while ago. It's quick to apply, dries far quicker than linseed etc, and finishes harder. And it's a traditional foodsafe finish (salad bowls etc).

Could be dodgy if someone has a nut allergy

 

[lurker]

Can we talk you out of getting wed :lol:
Or is it too late (hammer)

 

[lurker]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paraffin-Gold-L ... d+paraffin

 

[adamt]

Can we talk you out of getting wed :lol:
Or is it too late (hammer)

Haha, well I've bought the wood now #-o

I guess nothing had been 'sealed' though.

I'll stop with the jokes there!

 

[adamt]

I would like to recommend tung oil. Readily available, wipe on, hardens very well and is food safe (I believe most oils are anyway). I get better results by thinning first coat about 2:1 with oil/turps. You can build as far as you like but a couple of coats will do it and be semi-matt, a few more coats builds a sheen. I used exactly that on an elm board for a big cheese board a while ago. It's quick to apply, dries far quicker than linseed etc, and finishes harder. And it's a traditional foodsafe finish (salad bowls etc).

Could be dodgy if someone has a nut allergy

Yeah, and I've already had to make some huge concessions to accommodate several different allergies...or fads as I like to call them.

 

[lurker]

I generally consider these folks just attention seeking.

However quite recently I witnessed a bloke go into anaphylactic shock after eating something and I have changed my opinion a bit. Clearly without the epi pen he would have been a gonna

 

[CHJ]

As has been mentioned, Liquid Paraffin BP (British Pharmacopeia) is the safest.
Chestnuts Brand 'Food Safe Oil'is basically a light version that soaks in a little easier.
Ikea SKYDD is slightly thicker, takes a little longer to dry off.
Or your Local Pharmacy should have it. But this will probably be somewhat thicker in consistency and take longer to dry out.