If you've just made a wooden cutting board, or if you've purchased an unfinished cutting board, you can add a finish to it to ensure that it lasts for years. You have a few options when you finish a cutting board, from a simple oil finish to a buffed wax-and-oil mixture.
Instructions
Create a Simple Finish
1. Sand your cutting board if you haven't already. You want the smoothest possible surface to ensure that none of your cutting board ends up in your food.
2. Choose your desired oil. The two best oils for finishing a cutting board are mineral oil and walnut oil. Walnut oil tends to darken lighter woods, so choose mineral oil if you want to maintain the color of your cutting board.
3. Apply a coat of oil evenly over the cutting board with a clean rag, going in the direction of the grain. Make the coat thick enough that it soaks into the wood.
4. Buff the surface lightly with steel wool, if desired. Buffing can make the next coat of oil soak in better.
5. Put another coat of oil on your cutting board to finish it.
6. Add a new coat of oil whenever your cutting board needs it. You'll know it needs a new application when the wood begins to dry out.
Create a Wax-and-Oil Finish
7. Sand your cutting board to prepare it for the finish.
8. Heat 2 cups mineral oil in a double boiler. As it's heating, add 2/3 cup paraffin wax, cut into small pieces to make it melt more quickly. Stir the mixture until all of the wax melts.
9. Apply the wax-and-oil mixture to your cutting board with a brush or cloth, covering it thickly. Go in the direction of the grain for the best results.
10. Let the cutting board dry overnight. Add another coat of wax and oil mixture, heating it in the double boiler again.
11. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until the wood can't soak up any more of the finish.
12. Remove any finish that the wood didn't soak up, scraping it off with a putty knife or similar tool. Complete the finish by buffing your cutting board with a clean rag.
13. Add a new coat of wax and oil when the wood needs it, whenever it starts to dry out.
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