I’ve just made a end-grain cutting board as a gift. I have applied several coats of mineral oil and a couple coats of oil/wax mixture. I want to advise my mother (it’s for her) to continue to season the board for several days at first, to oil it after use, and then to maintain it with a oil/wax coat every month or so.
If you apply just mineral oil to a waxed surface, can the mineral oil still soak into the grain? Or, would she need to continue to season it with the oil/wax mixture at first?
Thank you.
Replies
Mineral or food safe nut oil only! It it's a cutting board to be used, wax is a waste of time. Most waxes have mineral spirits or toluene. If you just HAVE to wax it use pure beeswax only.
I used only food grade mineral oil. I used several coats of mineral oil, and then two applications of Howard's Butcher Block Conditioner - mineral oil/beeswax/caranuba - from Rockler. I checked its MSDS. I applied the conditioner for presentation. It's a gift. My question was: will mineral oil soak into the grain with the wax coat on top? Can you continue to season it and maintain it with just mineral oil?Thank you.
You put the mineral oil on first so no problem there. The next time it needs refreshing the wax will be long gone so it will not present a barrier to the oil. Just oil and wax when needed, making sure the end user understands which products to use.The best compliment to you is that the board gets used hard. It won't stay great looking forever, but an oiling every now and then will alleviate the dry look.Your goal when making a board is to make sure it stays glued. No way it will stay 'pretty' if it is actually used. But that's a good thing.
Edited 3/25/2009 2:30 pm ET by BossCrunk
Just some mineral oil will be fine. If it's done correctly and often, it will just "pool up" and won't get a lot of penetration. Let it sit for a minute and just wipe it off.
I just got a new bottle from the Walmart Pharmacy. I spent $1.88 for a pretty big bottle. A similar bottle at woodcraft would run $10.
Mineral oil only for oil--not any kind of vegetable or nut oils. They will get rancid. Butchers use mineral oil and paraffin.
She shouldn't need to really do much treatment very often.Gretchen
I have wooden kitchen counter tops that need periodic maintenance. I used to use mineral oil, but that was pretty messy and took forever to dry. I found a product at the local hardware store that is an oil finish for cutting boards, salad bowls, etc. (Can't remember the name, but I can dig it out if you want.) I like it much better than mineral oil because it goes on easier and dries pretty quickly.
FWIW, I concur with the comments that, unless you're applying beeswax sans petroleum-based thinners, you're better off just skipping the wax.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Mineral oil is used because it is a non-drying oil. You wipe it on and wipe it off.Gretchen
Well sorta. You can wipe it on, but never wipe it entirely off, and you're left with a dirt-attracting film on the counter. That's why I didn't like it much.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
I have three cutting boards that I made and get used a lot. Thay all got several coats of mineral oil when I made them and I only "season" them once or twice a year.
The most important thing is to never soak them in warm dishwater. Mine get wiped down when the dishes are washed, immediately rinsed, and either towel dried or set in the dish drainer to dry.
Whatever you do, don't run a cutting board thru a dishwasher! I often make cutting boards as thank you gifts for customers. One of them called me back for another job about a year after the first job and her cutting board was completely trashed. She had been running it thru her dishwasher every week, or so!! - lol
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