# Finishing red oak kitchen utensils



## the_nite_owl (Oct 19, 2009)

I am a newbie woodworker and have just made some oven rack pullers out of red oak. These are 14" long simple devices to hook onto the rack in the oven and pull it out without having to lean so far over the door to grab it with an oven mitt.

I now need to apply a finish that will look good on the red oak and stand up to lite/moderate use in a kitchen.
I have no real experienc with finishing. 
I thought it would be difficult to apply most brushed on finishes evenly on such a small item without getting overlap.
I thought that an oil or wax finish would be easiest to apply evenly and quickly but I am looking for recommendations based on the wood, use and size of the item.

I plan on stopping by and picking up something to finish with on the way home from work today so recommendations would be appreciated as well as any tips on application of the recommended finish.

Also, I have a bit of leftover hard maple I thought to make a few more out of to give away if there is any difference in the suggesting finish method for maple over red oak.

Thanks.


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

Mineral oil is a food safe finish and will pop the grain/flecks in oak reasonably well.

Just keep applying it until the wood stops soaking in any more. Pretty cheap to buy at the pharmacy, especially if you buy the "house brand".


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## the_nite_owl (Oct 19, 2009)

rwyoung said:


> Mineral oil is a food safe finish and will pop the grain/flecks in oak reasonably well.
> 
> Just keep applying it until the wood stops soaking in any more. Pretty cheap to buy at the pharmacy, especially if you buy the "house brand".


Sounds easy enough.
Will I have to worry about the grain lifting with mineral oil? Will I need to do any fine sanding after applying to smooth the wood back out?

After sanding the piece the other day I moistened my fingers and ran them across it to pull off the fine dust and bring out the color so I could see what it would look like finished. The wood got very rough for a while.
Due to the nature of the cut (curved handle) there is a lot of end grain all over the piece and I worry about it getting rough textured once I add an oil finish.

Thanks for the info.


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

Wipe on polyurethane !!!! Hands down the best of the easy to apply finishes. Since this is not a tool to be used in contact with your food you don't have to worry about it. Even if it were you could still use it because after it has fully cured it is food safe.


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

the_nite_owl said:


> Sounds easy enough.
> Will I have to worry about the grain lifting with mineral oil? Will I need to do any fine sanding after applying to smooth the wood back out?
> 
> After sanding the piece the other day I moistened my fingers and ran them across it to pull off the fine dust and bring out the color so I could see what it would look like finished. The wood got very rough for a while.
> ...


Wipe them down with mineral spirits or denatured alcohol after your final sanding. Then apply the mineral oil. Mineral oil will not raise the grain. There is no need to sand between coats, it will just clog the sand paper anyway.

If you go with a polyurethene, the easiest to apply is wipe-on poly (either buy or make your own by diluting standard poly 1:1 with mineral spirits). Several light coats with a rub down between fully dried coats with a nice high grit like 400 or some 0000 steel wool or equivalent. In general, wipe-on polys are diluted about 50% so it takes 2 coats of a wipe-on poly to equal the thickness of a single coat of regular stuff (excluding the thick spar stuff which you don't want to use here).

Fully cured, polyurethene is generally considered to be food safe for casual contact.

Another tip on the poly, don't bother buying anything except a gloss poly. You can always make gloss look like satin or matte but you can't go the other way. The satin/matte stuff is simply glossy poly with fine silica or other particulate additives that you have to stir up to get back into suspension. No need to stir gloss poly. Depending on how much you sand/steelwool and at what grits you can alter the look of gloss.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

+1 on wipe-on poly.. though I'd dilute even that. Either wipe-on diluted ~50:50 with mineral spirits or regular poly diluted about 1 part poly to 3 parts poly (no need to be precise).

You don't want to build up a film, just protect the wood. The 1:3 is what I used on my padauk / tigerwood cutting board and it worked great!


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## the_nite_owl (Oct 19, 2009)

I went with mineral oil for the oven rack pullers. Amazingly easy, looks great.
I will have to try the poly on another project. Trying to keep to more natural sealers as my wife has a lot of allergies and sensitivities to the smells and I need better venting in my workshop.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Mineral oil sounds idea for you then!  You can re-apply when needed.


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