# Food safe top coat for shot glasses?



## jcn (May 12, 2010)

Hi folks.

I'm planning to turn a few shot glasses, and a friend of mine is hoping to paint designs on the sides. I was planning on just finishing with mineral oil or something, since they'd potentially be used for drinking. But now that they'll have paint on them, I feel compelled to put some kind of top coat on there to keep the paint from chipping off.

My first instinct is dewaxed shellac, but I'm thinking that might not work well with the alcohol that will possibly be put into them, since shellac is thinned with alcohol.

So what are some other good options? Is wipe on poly safe for such an application?


----------



## swirt (Apr 6, 2010)

Shellac is food safe, but soluble in alcohol. So when you put the vodka or rum in, then you'd get some lac in your drink


----------



## jcn (May 12, 2010)

lol, yeah I'm hoping to avoid that.


----------



## hObOmOnk (Feb 6, 2007)

Note: Only *Food Grade* shellac is certified to be food safe.

Since some water is drinkable, is all water drinkable?

Here's a product that is certified to be Food Safe: General Finishes Salad Bowl Finish.


----------



## rhett (May 11, 2008)

I would search out some cheap, thin glass shot glasses and then turn an outershell of wood for them. Epoxy them in the wood shell and don't worry about poisoning your friends. Alcohol is the biggest enemy of most wood finishes, unless they are very toxic.

Or use a very dense, oily exotic wood and leave them without finish.


----------



## JJohnston (May 22, 2009)

All finishes are food safe when fully cured. I don't know where General (or any finish) claims its certification from, but it isn't from the FDA - they don't certify wood finishes. In fact, if you look at the MSDS for the General, it's nothing but polyurethane varnish.


----------



## beckerswoodworks (Dec 26, 2009)

Do not use dense, oily exotic woods without a finish. They tend to be very alergenic and it would not only affect the flavor of the drink it could make people sick. Listen to hobomonk and use a finish that is specifically designed for this purpose.


----------



## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

Another option is some sort of resin finish. But that ought to be REAL fun to keep an even coat that doesn't settle to the bottom. It sounds to me like Rhett has the best idea so far. Come to think of it, CA ought to be an appropriate finish. Any pen turners out there have any information to contribute on that? CA is soluble in acetone, but I'm not so sure about alcohol. Then again, shot glasses- how much time does the shot spend in the glass, anyway? Raw wood might be OK in that case. I sip my Cognac or Scotch slow, so I wouldn't know- my snifters are all glass.


----------



## hObOmOnk (Feb 6, 2007)

"...meets the requirements of the FDA Regulation, Title 21, CFR175.300 for direct food contact."


----------



## rhett (May 11, 2008)

I would rather drink a wood resin than a chemical resin.

That being said, there is a reason you never see wooden shotglasses.


----------



## JJohnston (May 22, 2009)

FDA Regulation, Title 21, CFR175.300 is a list of generic components of finishes. Any finish composed of these substances can claim compliance with the regulation, but the FDA does not "certify" any finish by name.


----------



## jcn (May 12, 2010)

What about this Liberon Finishing Oil stuff?

It mentions alcohol specifically.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=16797


----------



## Hand_solo101 (Mar 5, 2021)

Hi, I've been using my own beeswax/coconut oil mix on just about everything recently but am curious if anyone has experience with this type of wood finish and alcohol? Been asked to turn out a wine cup and hoping not to kill my client.


----------



## tvrgeek (Nov 19, 2013)

Alcohol and wood does not seem like a good combination to start with.


----------



## Hand_solo101 (Mar 5, 2021)

Thanks for your reply. You're right but the customer gets what the customer wants. My job is to find a solution.


----------



## wildwoodbybrianjohns (Aug 22, 2019)

Olivewood would not need any finish. Maybe just a beeswax buff.


> Or use a very dense, oily exotic wood and leave them without finish.
> 
> - rhett


----------



## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

> Note: Only *Food Grade* shellac is certified to be food safe.
> 
> Since some water is drinkable, is all water drinkable?
> 
> ...


Do you know what General finishes Salad Bowl finish is? I'd guess not.

This will tell you.


----------



## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

> Alcohol and wood does not seem like a good combination to start with.
> 
> - tvrgeek


Did you know they age spirits in wood barrels?


----------



## Wildwood (Jul 22, 2012)

No where in those CFR's do they address wood finishing materials or products. Extracted pertinent information from Food Code:

FOOD CODE 
U.S. Public Health Service
FDA U.S. Food & Drug Administration

https://www.fda.gov/media/110822/download

4-101.17 Wood, Use Limitation found on page 145
(A) Except as specified in ¶¶ (B), (C), and (D) of this section, wood and wood wicker may not be used as a food-contact surface.
(B) Hard maple or an equivalently hard, close-grained wood may be used for:
1. (1) Cutting boards; cutting blocks; bakers' tables; and utensils such as rolling pins, doughnut dowels, salad bowls, and chopsticks; and
2. (2) Wooden paddles used in confectionery operations for pressure scraping kettles when manually preparing confections at a temperature of 110°C (230°F) or above.
(C) Whole, uncut, raw fruits and vegetables, and nuts in the shell may be kept in the wood shipping containers in which they were received, until the fruits, vegetables, or nuts are used.
(D) If the nature of the food requires removal of rinds, peels, husks, or shells before consumption, the whole, uncut, raw food may be kept in:
1. (1) Untreated wood containers; or
2. (2) Treated wood containers if the containers are treated with a preservative that meets the requirements specified in 21 CFR 178.3800 Preservatives for wood.

FOOD SAFE FINISHES: Article by Jonathan Binzen 
https://www.finewoodworking.com/2006/08/01/food-safe-finishes


----------



## Phil32 (Aug 31, 2018)

Is *alcohol* included among the foods referenced in the regulation cited?


----------

