I just did a couple cutting boards.  Everything was looking good until I put on the finish.  I was using a mineral oil, beeswax/carnauba mix from Howard Products, Butcher Block Conditioner.  I don't think it's anything to do with the conditioner as I've run into this before when using a mineral oil/beeswax product before.  Before I had trouble with paduk bleeding over into the maple when I was rubbing it, this time it's the jarrah color transfering over onto the maple.  I suppose I could use some kind of sealer first, but I suppose that would defeat my trying to use an all food grade finish.  Anyone have any ideas how I can avoid this problem?

I have had this issue before as well dealing with Padauk with that very fine powdery orange dust. But I have found that the best thing to do is to use compressed air to blow off all the orange dust as opposed to brushing or wiping it off. Even using your hands to wipe the dust off can be problematic due to the oils or sweat in your hands can cause the color transfer into the grain of lighter woods. Also try using straight mineral oil for the first coat by either pouring (put the board in a cookie sheet or pan with raised edges to catch the run off) or with a very well saturated cotton cloth like old t-shirt material that you dab onto the wood as opposed to wiping. After that then do the oil/wax mix.

 

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Allen Worsham
Corona, CA

allenworsham@earthlink.net

http://www.awcreationsandwoodcrafts.com

'Graze in every man's field, but always give your own milk' J. Vernon McGee

Basically that's about what I was thinking.  On the first coat just dab is some and not do much rubbing.  By doing that maybe it will seal it some and I'll be able to rub the second coat.  I'll have to try the blowing it off too, I did just wipe these.

Allen Worsham said:

I have had this issue before as well dealing with Padauk with that very fine powdery orange dust. But I have found that the best thing to do is to use compressed air to blow off all the orange dust as opposed to brushing or wiping it off. Even using your hands to wipe the dust off can be problematic due to the oils or sweat in your hands can cause the color transfer into the grain of lighter woods. Also try using straight mineral oil for the first coat by either pouring (put the board in a cookie sheet or pan with raised edges to catch the run off) or with a very well saturated cotton cloth like old t-shirt material that you dab onto the wood as opposed to wiping. After that then do the oil/wax mix.

 

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Allen Worsham

Corona,

CA

allenworsham@earthlink.net

http://www.awcreationsandwoodcrafts.com

'Graze in every man's field, but always give your own milk' J. Vernon McGee

What a beautiful board!  Can you lightly sand the smears off?  I was also thinking USP grade mineral oil for the first couple of coats.  

 

SQ

 

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It it can't be fixed with glue and sawdust - it's not worth fixing.

I have used many exotic woods in my lathe turnings/cutting boards and have experiences with  the same thing. I have been told by other wood workers to use scrapers, instead of sand paper. I did try that and I didn't like that either, however you must try that yourself, because I did not have a good scraper that worked for my application. . The only solution that I can offer is to use hard woods only  on your blocks. Hardness of wood plays a big part, due to the closeness of the wood cells, so use hard woods as much as you can. Then sand by HAND and select/sand the different shades very carefully and try very hard not to allow the dust to carry over from the darker wood to the lighter wood.

 

Simple solution, NO, there isn't one, but I hope this helps.

What about cleaning with alcohol before finishing? 

I know that with Padauk I can clean it several times with isopropyl and a paper towel before I don't get any more orange coming off.

Roy I have also experienced that using Padauk in a board with maple. I took some 80 grit paper on the belt sander and sanded it back down to bare wood. That is about the only way to get rid of the color and you may not get all of it then.

 

Allen's process is the way I go now. I make sure between grits of paper that I blow everything off really good. I have also done as Justin suggest and wiped it with DNA before I put the finish on it. Once it has the oil on it, no more abrasives can be put to it. It will cause the dust of the Padauk to transfer to the lighter maple.

 

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John Moody
John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

Beautiful cutting board, Roy.

I don't mind the color smears. You can send it to me.

I use Behlen's salad bowl finish and pour it, as suggested, after a thorough vacuuming. I let it set for a couple hours, steel wool it and wipe on the 2nd coat. No problems with Paduak and Maple or Paduak and Oak in my candy dishes. 

 

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

The concern that lots of folks have for food safe finishing can be taken to an extreme. It is stated quite often for past several years now, that once the odor of any finish is gone, meaning it has cured well,  that it is then food safe. I  am one that agrees  with this. I also think the sealer might be a good idea.

I got it sanded off, that was a mess with the waxy finish already there on the edges.  After I got it sanded I wiped it off with alcohol and after it dried I put more of the mineral oil/wax finish on.  This time I did more of a dabbing job on it and I don't notice any smear on it.  Today I'll try rubbing a couple more coats on and I think I'll do ok. 

I agree about some people being over board with the food safe stuff, but in this case with the cutting board I know it's going to see a lot of knife action on it, and I just want to be sure that I've got a finish on it that won't chip or break over time.  I know this finish won't harden like some would, and if someone wants to chew the corner off it that's no big deal. 

I use Behlen's just to be on the safe side.

But it gets hard enough that, on a cutting board, it might show chipping. 

On candy dishes or salad bowls, it's great.

I've used it on toys and after a few years of play, they still look good, worn a little, but OK.

 

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

I found over the years that using mineral oil only has been the best for me. Most of the various types of specialty finishes for cutting boards or butcher block, etc. their prime ingredient is mineral oil. Doing a mineral oil/wax mix works well and is longer lasting between re-finishing than just mineral oil alone. The hot oil/wax mix will have the oil pulling the wax down partially into the grain so it lasts longer, but it will still have to be replenished on a regular basis. Using any type of film finish on a cutting board is problematic as the film will be cut through by the knives and can/will flake. Like Gene said, it works good for salad bowls or candy dishes, but not for a cutting board. But the biggest thing that I take into consideration is that my cutting boards are bought by others or given as gifts so they are the ones that have to maintain the finish on the boards. Going through the process of melting the wax/oil and taking the time to put on multiple coats and scraping off the excess is not something that most folks can or will do. But with straight mineral oil, it is very easy to maintain with minimal expense and effort. So with every board I give out an instruction sheet on how to maintain their board as well as letting them know where to get the mineral oil (Walmart pharmacy 1 pint bottle about $2.50 and will last for a very long time). I give them a basic rule of thumb that you should oil the board once a week for a month, and then once a month. Do they follow these instructions? Probably not, but I did my due diligence and then cashed their check.

 

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Allen Worsham
Corona, CA

allenworsham@earthlink.net

http://www.awcreationsandwoodcrafts.com

'Graze in every man's field, but always give your own milk' J. Vernon McGee