Reply by Scott Bryan

Wes, you have a pretty complicated question in the second one. But, can you apply poly over a Tung oil finish, the answer is yes. The HD version is a wiping varnish so it is ok to apply poly over it. If I were doing this I would scuff sand the tung oil with 320 after it has cured and apply a few coats of wipe on poly.

Can you use poly on bowls for fruit? That is a topic that has been hotly debated at times. One school of thought holds that any finish is safe for food contact once it has cured since the toxic elements of the finish are the solvent carriers. Once the solvents evaporate only inert materials are left behind. There is an equal number who advocate only using “approved” food safe finishes such as mineral oil, walnut oil, Behlen’s salad bowl finish, to mention a few.

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