Maintaining Wood Charcuterie Boards
To get the most use out of your wood charcuterie board, you need to clean and maintain it properly. For example, baking soda sprinkled on, wet and wiped off can help remove stains, and a fresh lemon rubbed on the wood surface helps oxidize organic material left behind to remove smells and stains.
Keep in mind that cleaning solvents are not good choices for maintaining charcuterie boards as they can seep into the pores and spoil your finish plus leave behind noxious chemicals. Additionally, never use alcohol to clean your charcuterie board as it dries out the wood surface and leaves the material vulnerable to drying and cracking. If you must sterilize your charcuterie board, use diluted bleach plus soap and water instead to help preserve the finish.
Treatment - Each board that leaves my shop has had 3-5 treatments of walnut oil after using multiple grades of sanding paper. The final treatment is wax which is left to cure for several days. The wax helps maintain the lustre by keeping the oil from leaching out of the grain. If you need to redo your finish, use sanding paper from 220 - 400 grade or higher. Be sure to go with the grain. Oil should be food safe and wiped off between each treatment until the wood grain is completely saturated. Adding a wax is not required but if used, be sure it is food safe.
Enjoy your charcuterie board.
Maintaining a Log Carving
Although the logs used for carving experience some drying time, and the top is usually sealed, moisture needs to escape somewhere. I recommend putting cardboard on the bottom of the log to absorb the moisture and change the cardboard when necessary. Another option is to put a number of wood pieces spaced out evenly to allow air flow and water moisture to escape. Even with sealer, some logs will show evidence of moisture escaping around the carving itself, and can form mold. Use a very diluted bleach i.e. javex (don’t remove the sealer) and a small disposable brush and lightly brush the area. Clean up with a disposable paper towel.
Raw logs are somewhat unstable as they dry out. The harder the wood, the more stable the carving. Poplar is a soft hardwood and care should be used where it is sitting and stored. Birch is much harder and can withstand temperature fluctuations more. Log fibres will try to release, and when carved, the area exposed is likely the spot you may get cracking. The face is usually sealed with an oil such as linseed or tung oil and a sealer to decrease risk of checking (cracks). Checking on the top and bottom of the carving is natural and should not be discouraged. Most carvings are several inches below the top to limit checking going into the carved area.
- Caution on varying temperature ranges with the carving as the moisture in the log will contract and expand, increasing chances of checking. Storage over the winter months should be away from heat sources. Cold floors or surfaces may cause fibres to expand increasing risk, and it is not recommended to put logs directly on infloor heated areas.
- If outside, I would recommend an area that is not in direct sunlight. All of the environmental elements causes wear on a carving...and may give it a nice aged look. The sun’s UV rays break down the sealer over time and may darken the carving. Some like this effect so it’s really the customer’s preference. Some re-apply their own sealer each year as a protectant, and that is OK. I recommend a matt or satin sealer...1-2 light coats to prevent sheen (glossy look). When dry, use a plain paper bag, scrunch it up in a ball, and buff the area sealed to get rid of the roughness.
- The eyes are usually acrylic pain and sometimes burned on, and will fade over time. Some like the effect, or the eyes can be scraped and painted or burned again...then sealed with a sealer.
Enjoy your log carving.
