Beewax - non-toxic finish

[Ber Gueda]

I am concerned about toxic finishings to wood. This is why I would like to use only natural non-toxic products as olive oil or beewax, specially for toys and chopping or cutting boards. 

I intended to use raw beewax, but I am afraid that I would have to mix it with some kind of oil for a better application. Turpentine essence is not an option, as well as oils with solvents.

What is your experience with beewax and what other products you use with it? My only requirement is not to use anything toxic.

Thanks!

[Bill WIlson]

Beeswax is commonly mixed with mineral oil, which is food safe and found in the pharmacy section of your favorite super market, with the laxatives.

[BadBob]

10 minutes ago, Bill WIlson said:

Beeswax is commonly mixed with mineral oil

You can buy it in a gallon jug on Amazon. It's much cheaper.

[BadBob]

All finishes sold in the US are nontoxic when cured. The key word here is cured, which is not the same thing as dry.

Wood is toxic, and some are more toxic than others. I have been up to my eyeballs in this issue since opening my Etsy shop in 2017. I use acrylic paint, shellac, polyurethane, and a custom wax blend with a mineral oil base. All of these have a very short cure time. Oil-based polyurethane has a long cure time of 2-4 weeks. Most oil-based finishes have the same 2-4 weeks cure time.

 

[kmmcrafts]

I did a video on this a few years ago on my blog about how to make your own mineral oil and beeswax.. Have to make sure you don't heat up too hot or you'll have a fire going.. Here in the USA you can buy this at some of the local woodcrafts type stores already made up.. though a small container is pricey and making it is easy. I'm sure there is probably other videos on this topic on YouTube.. 

https://www.kevskrafts.com/blog

[kmmcrafts]

A lot goes into cure times too besides what is said on a can of finish.. such as temperature and humidity levels etc.. I'm sure you know all that.. just pointing that out to anyone else that may not..

[Bill WIlson]

4 hours ago, BadBob said:

You can buy it in a gallon jug on Amazon. It's much cheaper.

Mebbe.  Target lists it for $2.99/16oz (figures out to about $24/gal) and I saw it listed for anywhere from $22 to $30 a gallon on Amazon. 

Either way a gallon is a lot.  Unless you are doing cutting board mass production, a gallon will last a loooong time.

[Gonzo]

I use Kevins recipe of beeswax and mineral oil. A little goes a long way. Like Bill said a gallon of mineral oil would last a long time.

i also use shellac, which is food safe, quite often. 
 

if I know I will be sitting a piece for awhile, I will use Minwax Antique Oil, but it does take a bit to cure. It’s also my favorite finish to use. 
 

I agree with BadBob. Key word is cured. 

[BadBob]

I use a recipe based on this video.

Nick's recipe download.

 

 

Edited November 18 by BadBob

[TAIrving]

You can buy cutting board oil/wax mixtures in small quantities at any of the big box stores or online.  The recipes Kevin and Bad Bob give are more cost effective if you plan to use larger quantities.  

[barb.j.enders]

I use mineral oil/beeswax blend.  

Here is another video to add to the mix!!        

https://toymakingplans.com/non-toxic-toy-finish-how-to/

[Blaughn]

I have worked my way through Poly, Poly & Tung oil, Lacquer, and now shellac.  Shellac has been a go-to finish for children's toys for decades.  I dissolve the shellac flakes using 190 proof Everclear Vodka purchased at a Liquor store.  It is has a very little odor but, unfortunately, the 190 proof version is not sold everywhere.  I had to drive to Wisconsin to buy it. 

I used the 1 1/2 pound "cut" (1.5 pounds of shellac flakes per gallon ration or scaled down as needed) as recommended for the French Polish method of application.  Shellac can be applied as a sealer, brushed, sprayed, dipped and padded on as a fine finish.  Using the French Polish technique you can achieve a high gloss finish that, unlike lacquer, is very "close to the wood."   YouTube has a number of videos showing the padding technique.  The wood shown here is "Live Edge Cherry" and the finish was padded on with 12 applications rubbed in with roughly 30-45 minutes between applications.  I know kids toy makers simply dip and let dry shellac for a non-toxic finish. 

 

[Ber Gueda]

Thanks to everyone for your comments and sharing your experience. Where I live is not so easy to find shellac. I will try for the moment being a mix with olive oil, since it is cheaper than mineral oil and you can find it everywhere. 

[kmmcrafts]

6 hours ago, Ber Gueda said:

Thanks to everyone for your comments and sharing your experience. Where I live is not so easy to find shellac. I will try for the moment being a mix with olive oil, since it is cheaper than mineral oil and you can find it everywhere. 

Might want to make sure the olive oil won't go rancid and make your finish go from a safe finish to a toxic one. I'm on some cutting board forums and many of the topics are about using specific oils because of some oils will turn rancid and become toxic.. this is why most cutting boards say to treat with mineral oil.. I'm no expert on this, just passing on what I've read on other forums.. 

[barb.j.enders]

I am surprised that mineral oil is more expensive than olive oil!!

[Ber Gueda]

3 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

Might want to make sure the olive oil won't go rancid and make your finish go from a safe finish to a toxic one. I'm on some cutting board forums and many of the topics are about using specific oils because of some oils will turn rancid and become toxic.. this is why most cutting boards say to treat with mineral oil.. I'm no expert on this, just passing on what I've read on other forums.. 

I never heard of olive oil being toxic. It is not normally recommended if rancid because its bad taste, but nothing more. I did a quick "research" on google and I found some comments on toxicity of rancid olive oil and other saying the opposite, so it's difficult to know where the truth is. I did not find any qualified opinion, though, on any of these two options.

[Bill WIlson]

I too have heard that organic nut & plant oils aren't recommended because of the risk of them going rancid.  I still believe that mineral oil is a better option.

 

Check the link below;

https://www.cuttingboard.com/blog/what-type-of-oils-are-safe-to-use-on-your-cutting-board/?srsltid=AfmBOoqlWsKezEdLrC5FC01AFmoNWYImCDI79faOrYzYxcwNC2gxhHS2

From the above website; Olive oil, corn oil, and sunflower oil, should never be used to maintain a cutting board or butcher block. These oils experience rancidification – a process that yields a rank smell and unpleasant taste.

[Ber Gueda]

Thanks Bill, I agree with the rank smell and unpleasant taste, and definitely is a good reason not to use it on cutting boards. But it does not mean that is might be toxic for human beings, as Kevin pointed out according to what he was told. 

It's interesting, though, that mineral oil, derived from petroleum, is non-toxic. 

 

[Ber Gueda]

8 hours ago, barb.j.enders said:

I am surprised that mineral oil is more expensive than olive oil!!

I am from Spain, Barb, where we have plenty of olive oil, that might be the reason.

You can buy mineral oil for 15 USD for half a litre (about 17 oz), while 1 litre of olive oil is about 5-6 USD.

[MarieC]

I just read an article from Fine woodworking (Nov/Dec Issue 2024) by Seri Robinson, a professor of wood anatomy:

  Here is a few quotes from the article: "As a professor of wood anatomy, I’ve done quite a bit of research into food-safe finishes. The results might surprise you. One thing everyone seems to have missed is that wood doesn’t have a bacteria problem. Unfinished wood is naturally anti­microbial. In fact, when rinsed and dried properly between uses, it is self-cleaning. Wood finishes only serve to undermine this amazing property of wood....

Popular wisdom says that microbes multiply in raw wood, growing and waiting until—Whammo!—the listeria army attacks your charcuterie party. That’s not how raw wood and bacteria interact, and there are decades of research to back this up, as well as centuries of safe contact between food and unfinished wood. Here’s what is actually happening.

Wood is constantly gaining and losing moisture from the air around it. In scientific circles we refer to this as wood’s hydroscopic property. Wood does the same when it comes in contact with any liquid, such as water from a sink or juice from an uncooked steak....So if bacteria is drawn into the wood with moisture, why won’t it come back out and wreak havoc? If you give your cutting board or spoon a rinse after use and let it dry on all sides, the drying action will continue to pull bacteria deep into the wood, where it will be trapped and die. Little to none will be left on the surface, at least not enough to transfer. This is what I mean when I say wood is antimicrobial."  

*One note she mentions is: "If you absolutely want the look of an oil finish, go with just one coat, and avoid raw or unrefined natural oils such as olive oil, grape-seed oil, and raw linseed oil. These can take months to cure if they cure at all, and they can become rancid....   The worst option for food- or kid-related items is any finish that is formulated for outdoor use, as it is likely to contain dangerous chemicals."

 

[BadBob]

On 11/19/2024 at 8:45 AM, barb.j.enders said:

I am surprised that mineral oil is more expensive than olive oil!!

$24 per gallon of mineral oil vs $36 for 3.5 quarts of olive oil.

[Wichman]

Oh, what a rabbit hole

I remember the good old days when a Google search would get decent results, now it's a case of pick what feeds your own beliefs ( this applies to numerous genres ).

While I was in college a new round of agricultural products came around with very dubious claims. My instructors put together a class on how to spot the BS adds. It's been 45 years, so my memory is a little fuzzy. I'll have to go refresh my memory and start a new thread in the Coffee House.

[Ber Gueda]

 

3 hours ago, Wichman said:

I remember the good old days when a Google search would get decent results, now it's a case of pick what feeds your own beliefs ( this applies to numerous genres ).

I totally agree. I understand that everybody can have an opinion and some experiences and that these might be really diverse. In that case, I think that specialized articles from authorized people can make the difference and bring some real light about the issue. The problem is when even these articles throw completely opposite views. Then you feel really lost and you don't know who and what to believe. At last, there is nothing better to rely on than "common sense".

[barb.j.enders]

22 hours ago, BadBob said:

$24 per gallon of mineral oil vs $36 for 3.5 quarts of olive oil.

I just checked, online, at my local store.  I am surprised.  Mineral oil $1.54/100ml and the cheap olive oil $1.57/100ml.