mineral oil question

[moby]

i've been mooching about the tinterweb looking at various sites and videos etc.
i noticed mineral oil mentioned a few times. one chap on the internet, american i think, said it was a laxative cure and sold in chemists.
i asked at a couple of chemists about it and they couldnt say what it was. castor oil apparently is a laxative but is not clear, slightly tinged.

any advice?

 

[Harbo]

Paraffin oil

Rod

 

[bodge]

Sounds like liquid paraffin which can be used as a mild laxative and is clear.

 

[CHJ]

Liquid Paraffin British Pharmacopoeia (BP) , Light Grade Sold as Food Safe Finish (thinner penetrates better) and by outlets such a IKEA as a thicker grade for work top coating. Or of course your local pharmacy, veterinary supplies etc.

 

[Gary Morris]

I too was reading about mineral oil, re mixing it with beeswax to make a finish for my intarsia. You can buy 'mineral oil' on the net, it's a 'generic' title and there are 3 types according to Wikki; Liquid Parafin being one of them. It is also used as a lubricant for your intestines, personally I'd prefer 6 pints of Stella and a Chicken Vindaloo, but I don't think it would be good for the wood though.

Gary

 

[dp341]

I bought a big, very thick and untreated beech butchers block years ago. Bought an expensive 500ml bottle of mineral oil that was branded as a "food safe wood finish" and watched the butchers block soak it all up and hardly look different. Ended up with a 5 litre bottle of mineral oil from a vet for the same price, used nearly all of that before the block stopped soaking it up.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If you bought it from a vet near us it would cost 10x more, not10x less.