This is a recipe I use for a quick and easy DIY non-toxic wood polish that can be used for finishing (or re-finishing) which is mainly used in the kitchen on small carvings or other little wooden things that will live indoors.

Step 1: Ingredients:

Coconut oil, or
Olive oil
A pinch of salt
Lemon juice (or a couple of lemons)
A roll of paper towel
Heat source (stovetop or microwave are both fine)

Step 2: Mix It Together:

Simply melt a few spoonfulls of coconut oil until it has mostly turned from white to clear.

I usually pop a heaped tablespoon into a pyrex cup & zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds. It comes out with a few white lumps but they dissolve during the mixing.

Once cooled slightly, add your lemon juice.

I mix half a teaspoon of lemon juice to 1 tablespoon of coconut oil with a small pinch of table salt.

if using olive oil, mix it at 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1.5 tablespoons of oil, dont use the salt with olive oil.

mix until combined.

You can bulk up the mix depending on how much you need. the unused mix will keep fine in an airtight container out of direct sunlight/heat for a year or two easily.

Protip: both are also amazing for greasing up baked potatoes (that's what the basil is for)

Step 3: Apply:

The mix can be applied with a brush, rubbed in with a rag, or a bit of both.

I usually brush it on with a rag, then wipe it off and leave it all to sink in for a few hours before repeating. This is one of those "Less is more" situations, a little bit will go a long way.

This is a great way to keep your wooden kitchen utensils (spoons, chopping boards) from looking old and haggard.

The display picture is a few pieces of hardwood glued into a chopping board that I decided to bring back into the kitchen because of the beautiful wood grain.

Step 4: Finishing:

After you've rubbed in and covered your project, leave it for five minutes, the coconut oil will start to solidify on the wood, time to use the paper towel to wipe it all off.

This is really just using the towel as a fancy polishing cloth but really does make a difference.

Step 5: Done:

If this'ible helped at all, its entered in thel wood competition *hintwinknudgenudge*

Please let me know if something was not clear so I can update if needed.

- Leeroy