Oil on a new tea tray...identity?

I have just received a new bamboo tea tray from Dragon Tea House, it had a
really strong smell out of the box and seems to have some type of light oil
teatment on it. I am still waiting for an answer from them as to what
exactly the treatment on this tray is, but in the meantime, if there are any
woodworkers or others here that have some experience with this, I wanted to
ask you...the only things I can guess are tung oil and linseed oil. I don't
think it's a foodbased oil such as vegetable because that wouldn't smell
chemically I don't think, but I could be wrong. Any idea as to what this
might be or how I could reasonably test it to determine identity given
common household equipment? I am a little concerned about linseed or tung
oil touching food vessels etc., should I be?

The strong smell isn't so abnormal because another large carved wooden tea
tray I got had been varnished so of course it smelled strongly. But varnish
doesn't come off whereas oil might so...that's why I'm wondering. Thanks.

Melinda

On Mar 19, 2:39 pm, "Melinda" <Csine...m> wrote:
> I have just received a new bamboo tea tray from Dragon Tea House, it had a
> really strong smell out of the box and seems to have some type of light oil
> teatment on it. I am still waiting for an answer from them as to what
> exactly the treatment on this tray is, but in the meantime, if there are any
> woodworkers or others here that have some experience with this, I wanted to
> ask you...the only things I can guess are tung oil and linseed oil. I don't
> think it's a foodbased oil such as vegetable because that wouldn't smell
> chemically I don't think, but I could be wrong. Any idea as to what this
> might be or how I could reasonably test it to determine identity given
> common household equipment? I am a little concerned about linseed or tung
> oil touching food vessels etc., should I be?
>
> The strong smell isn't so abnormal because another large carved wooden tea
> tray I got had been varnished so of course it smelled strongly. But varnish
> doesn't come off whereas oil might so...that's why I'm wondering. Thanks.
>
> Melinda

Well, that's a toughie without smelling/feeling it. My hope would be
that it is a natural oil like linseed or something similar. A way to
work on the mystery would be to go to an art store (fine art
supplies)... as an artist when I work in oil paint there are a number
of oils (including linseed) and thinners used and this would give you
a way to smell some of the options to make an olfactory match.

I'd hope it is a natural oil and not petrol based one but honestly
anything from China can have just about anything in/on it. I wish it
weren't that way but with a few billion folks saving lives isn't
priority one.

- Dominic

"Dominic T." <dominictiberio@> wrote in message
news:31d65d0b-0699-4263-b28f-2dcedaf4472c@m3g2000hsc..com...
> On Mar 19, 2:39 pm, "Melinda" <Csine...m> wrote:
>> I have just received a new bamboo tea tray from Dragon Tea House, it had
>> a
>> really strong smell out of the box and seems to have some type of light
>> oil
>> teatment on it. I am still waiting for an answer from them as to what
>> exactly the treatment on this tray is, but in the meantime, if there are
>> any
>> woodworkers or others here that have some experience with this, I wanted
>> to
>> ask you...the only things I can guess are tung oil and linseed oil. I
>> don't
>> think it's a foodbased oil such as vegetable because that wouldn't smell
>> chemically I don't think, but I could be wrong. Any idea as to what this
>> might be or how I could reasonably test it to determine identity given
>> common household equipment? I am a little concerned about linseed or tung
>> oil touching food vessels etc., should I be?
>>
>> The strong smell isn't so abnormal because another large carved wooden
>> tea
>> tray I got had been varnished so of course it smelled strongly. But
>> varnish
>> doesn't come off whereas oil might so...that's why I'm wondering. Thanks.
>>
>> Melinda
>
> Well, that's a toughie without smelling/feeling it. My hope would be
> that it is a natural oil like linseed or something similar. A way to
> work on the mystery would be to go to an art store (fine art
> supplies)... as an artist when I work in oil paint there are a number
> of oils (including linseed) and thinners used and this would give you
> a way to smell some of the options to make an olfactory match.
>
> I'd hope it is a natural oil and not petrol based one but honestly
> anything from China can have just about anything in/on it. I wish it
> weren't that way but with a few billion folks saving lives isn't
> priority one.
>
> - Dominic

Thanks Dominic, the seller says it's Tung oil, which according to Wikipedia
shouldn't be a problem unless I'm possibly serving someone with a nut
allergy. Good to know.

Thanks!
Melinda, thinking a nice Rou Gui ought to be good on this tray right now...

On Mar 19, 8:44 pm, "Melinda" <Csine...m> wrote:
> "Dominic T." <dominictibe...@> wrote in message
>
> news:31d65d0b-0699-4263-b28f-2dcedaf4472c@m3g2000hsc..com...
>
>
>
> > On Mar 19, 2:39 pm, "Melinda" <Csine...m> wrote:
> >> I have just received a new bamboo tea tray from Dragon Tea House, it had
> >> a
> >> really strong smell out of the box and seems to have some type of light
> >> oil
> >> teatment on it. I am still waiting for an answer from them as to what
> >> exactly the treatment on this tray is, but in the meantime, if there are
> >> any
> >> woodworkers or others here that have some experience with this, I wanted
> >> to
> >> ask you...the only things I can guess are tung oil and linseed oil. I
> >> don't
> >> think it's a foodbased oil such as vegetable because that wouldn't smell
> >> chemically I don't think, but I could be wrong. Any idea as to what this
> >> might be or how I could reasonably test it to determine identity given
> >> common household equipment? I am a little concerned about linseed or tung
> >> oil touching food vessels etc., should I be?
>
> >> The strong smell isn't so abnormal because another large carved wooden
> >> tea
> >> tray I got had been varnished so of course it smelled strongly. But
> >> varnish
> >> doesn't come off whereas oil might so...that's why I'm wondering. Thanks.
>
> >> Melinda
>
> > Well, that's a toughie without smelling/feeling it. My hope would be
> > that it is a natural oil like linseed or something similar. A way to
> > work on the mystery would be to go to an art store (fine art
> > supplies)... as an artist when I work in oil paint there are a number
> > of oils (including linseed) and thinners used and this would give you
> > a way to smell some of the options to make an olfactory match.
>
> > I'd hope it is a natural oil and not petrol based one but honestly
> > anything from China can have just about anything in/on it. I wish it
> > weren't that way but with a few billion folks saving lives isn't
> > priority one.
>
> > - Dominic
>
> Thanks Dominic, the seller says it's Tung oil, which according to Wikipedia
> shouldn't be a problem unless I'm possibly serving someone with a nut
> allergy. Good to know.
>
> Thanks!
> Melinda, thinking a nice Rou Gui ought to be good on this tray right now...

Well good to know, I was hoping it to be something like linseed or
tung, but I just hope there weren't any crazy solvents used in
conjunction with it. Since it is just a tray it's not a huge deal
(unless you partake in some Rou Gui directly off of it ;) but I'm
always a bit uneasy with wood products from China (especially bamboo)
I've heard and seen some horror stories, like bamboo sticks with
warning labels on them I bought about their toxicity.

I'd just wipe it down real good with an old cotton t-shirt/rag to
remove any excess and rub in what is there. Just be thankful it isn't
naptha or something similar.

- Dominic

If it is tung oil and still wet enough to take a fingerprint or feel
sticky you can buff it with a cloth or your fingers to help set the
oil.
It is a natural drying oil and will harden.