Finishing an Iroko kitchen worktop - Worktop oil vs Danish vs Tung vs ....

Tuttlinghorn

Hi, I'd really appreciate some advice !

I have a new worktop - made from Iroko planks, 45 mm thick.
It will be on an island and there will be some food prep done there, and a hob inset into it.

I want to ensure that anything I use on the worktop 'topside' is food safe, and doesn't have VOCs or anything else unpleasant in it, for us to breathe in over time. Having said that .. I don't envisage us chopping stuff directly on the worktop (except maybe for the cutout we will keep after the hob is inserted).

I dont want to change the colour of the wood, hoping for something of a Matte finish. I am ready to maintain the worktop (i.e. 2 -3 re-oiling sessions per annum)

I have started to oil the underside, 2 coats of Danish Oil so far. Looks great.

I have read that Danish oil doesn't penetrate very deep into the wood, and because Iroko is oily, as the oils release from the wood they can 'push' the oil out, leading to more frequent maintenance being needed. Added to this, you get driers included in Danish, so you dont know what kinds of heavy metals might be present ...

Alternative is pure Tung Oil ? which is not easy to apply correctly ...

And now I see that Worktop Oil is available from a few manufacturers.

Does anyone have experience based advise, with any of the above ? Or better suggestions !

thanks!

magicbastarder

Tuttlinghorn wrote: »

Added to this, you get driers included in Danish, so you dont know what kinds of heavy metals might be present ...

must check the tin of danish oil i have, but it's marked as food safe.

Tuttlinghorn

I'm not sure who defines 'food safe'. From what I can see, the Worktop Oil is being marketed as specifically food safe and compliant to a 'EU Toys' standard however see this comment from the tech dept. of a Worktop Oil manufacturere
'Unfortunately the technology used in XUZ Quick Dry Worktop Oil is patented and we are not at liberty to discuss the material in any detail. The product does contain a variety of purified vegetable oils in an emulsified state. Despite having a self-crosslinking component, small amounts of metal driers are still required to achieve full surface cure.

what kinds of metal, how small an amount ... am I just overly concerned ..

kadman

I made an extremely large salad bowl over 20 years ago. It was finished in about 12 coats of danish oil.

I made it as a display piece, not actually to be used. A neighbour sent it on to her sister in england.

And i met her many years after, and she was delighted to convey that she served salads weekly

from it since.

And she enjoys great health ;-)

Alun

That reminds me ... I made a nice big wooden platter, out of some lovely figured ash I think it was, with an oil-based finish, maybe Danish oil, and sold it to a work colleague of my wife. It was returned to me after a few months with the complain that it had 'faded' a bit and could I bring it back to it's former glory. Turned out he'd been using it to eat his breakfast off every day and had been washing it in the dishwasher :eek:

dathi

Tuttlinghorn wrote: »

Hi, I'd really appreciate some advice !


I want to ensure that anything I use on the worktop 'topside' is food safe, and doesn't have VOCs




thanks!

http://www.duluxtradepaintexpert.co.uk/web/pdf/datasheets/620.pdf danish oil is classed as high voc 399g/l in dulux one

Tuttlinghorn

dathi wrote: »

http://www.duluxtradepaintexpert.co.uk/web/pdf/datasheets/620.pdf danish oil is classed as high voc 399g/l in dulux one

blimey :eek:. thanks very much Dathi. not all the tech sheets seem to have this. I wil try to find same info for the worktop oils. I think we are probably going to go 1 coat of danish, for colour, then the rest of the coats and top ups in worktop..

what I dont know is, how much of the VOC is emitted whilst applying the finish, vs slowly emitted over time. either way, doesn't sound like something i want my kids doing their homework on.
I'm possibly in danger of paranoia, but I am bothered by the amount and variety of chemicals in an average 21st century home. now time for a chemical-laced beer i think ..

here's worse : http://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/health-and-safety/j/JUNWTO

Double Barrel

Food safe IMHO would start with pure beeswax and next would be pure tung oil. A mixture of mineral oil, linseed oil and tung oil would be food safe. But go Easy on the linseed oil.

Read through the information at this link, I think it will answer most of your concerns and questions. http://tungoil.co.uk/

There are several suppliers of tung oil, Liberon, Morrels, Mylands, for a start.

magicbastarder

dathi wrote: »

http://www.duluxtradepaintexpert.co.uk/web/pdf/datasheets/620.pdf danish oil is classed as high voc 399g/l in dulux one

a VOC is not necessarily toxic though. assuming the labels on paint tins uses the EU definition, it simply means it's an organic compound which boils at less than 250C. which would mean sunflower oil has a massively high VOC content.

Tuttlinghorn

magicbastarder wrote: »

a VOC is not necessarily toxic though...t.

good point. my concern is based on a limited knowledge so might be overdoing it ... however the manufacturer of some oils seem to add to the oil to speed up the drying process. these can contain heavy metals.

Since the manufacturers often don't disclose what is in the oil / varnish, my logic is that the less of it that is likely to be emitted in the future, the better !

in the end we went with an undercoat of danish to give some colour, then a worktop oil on top (manufacturer confirmed 3% VOC).
I think I'm not supposed to share names of product here so PM me if you are interested.
Also I think we got a 'pretty good' deal on an (expensive) worktop source from a joinery in the midlands.

magicbastarder

also, a lot of the safety data sheets are scary reading, but they're scary for the volatile solvents used - which generally evaporate because they're volatile. so they're aimed at the person applying the oil rather than the person using the finished product; would be interesting to see an SDS for the finish.