goblet finish

[marc]

Hi...I am trying to make a nice set of turned wood goblets. I havn't been able to find a suitable finish to seal the wood and to protect the beverage. I have read alot about '4 part finishes' that involve

2 coats of one thing to seal the wood and 2 coats of another to protect the beverage, but none of them will reveal what the finishes are. What is out there that will seal the goblets well enough to pour a dring into, yet not rub off on the drink itself?? Marc

[SonomaProducts.com]

You will find some controversy in this area but the experts I choose to believe say that lacquer and ploy are both totally non-toxic once all the volatile chemicals have evaporated and sufficiently gassed off. Therefore, poly would be tough enough to stand up to this type of usage, theoretically.

You can find salad bowl finish at Woodcraft. It is a varnish that sets very hard and clear and is made for use on food items.

Honestly, I would just treat them with mineral oil, which is totally food safe (it is even included in some foods). This would impede the intrusion of moisture from wine or beer, etc. Or even just raw wood or maybe waxed. Raw might get stained from wine. If this was a storage container i would worry more, but an hour filled with wine is pretty easy.

I think any finish will start to chip around the sharp edges near the drinking interface so that is why I would go for an oil or wax.

[mac davis]

I do a lot of goblets (good market for them in my area) and what works best for me is a few coats of Danish Oil and a good buffing with the Beall system...

Like most finishes, it might kill you if you drink it, but you'd have a hard time chewing or dissolving enough of any finish off the harm you...

Also, the carnauba wax that the buffing puts on helps seal the grain and it's used as an ingredient in lots of food products..

BTW.. I'd guess that maybe 10% of the goblets that I've sold ever had anything in them but dust from being displayed, and the few that got "wet" were used once for a toast or something....

Enjoy making the goblets, and check out rec.crafts.woodturning... some very nice, helpful folks there...

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing