[OrcasIsland]

Hello Woodworking!

I'm new to the forum. I am working on a piece for a friend in the tea world and am facing a situation i hope you guys can help with. This piece is a beautiful slab of black walnut that has been carved, sanded and is ready for finishing. The trick is that when finish it will have boiling water poured over it almost everyday. I have dealt with waterproofing before, but the heat of the water in this scenario scares me. Won't the heat of the water break down most finishes? I have been looking into marine sealers and at different Tung oil finishes. Any suggestions to protect against very hot water on hardwood?

Here is a finished example of a Chinese style tea tray

and here is an image of the unfinished board i am working on

Any help or experience someone could share would be super helpful. Thanks!

 

[gideon]

beautiful board and I love the simplicity of the design.

what do the Chinese use? looks to me like some kind of oil.

 

[OrcasIsland]

beautiful board and I love the simplicity of the design.

what do the Chinese use? looks to me like some kind of oil.

Thanks for the reply Gideon. Yes, I prefer the simplicity of the design too. Most of the tea boards you find are more elaborate. The only thing you don't see in this photo is the drain which wasn't drilled yet when this photo was taken.

I have been trying to find out what is generally used in Asia, but it's a bit difficult to find good information. I have heard Tung Oil, and also "9 coats" of "coating" which isn't very specific There is also a tendency with a lot of the Chinese tea boards to just drench them and you get this really plasticy, unnatural look that i would like to avoid if i can. I want to really show the natural beauty of the wood while still realizing this is a functional object and the beauty shouldn't override the function.

 

[Steve Neul]

Tung oil is pretty good however given the temperature of the water I would either try Epifanes spar varnish or an conversion varnish.