finishes for paddles

[garland reese]

What sort of finish to you prefer to use for canoe and kayak paddles? I've used varnish on mine, but I've pondered using something more like what might be used to protect blocks and such. Isn't there some good formulas using boiled linseed oil mixed with other things? Would that work well enough to preserve the paddles, assuming a regular freshening up of the finish? Would it be too much work to try and apply that sort of finish to a paddle (small blocks can just be dropped in a container of the stuff I reckon) with sufficient absorbtion to give ample protection?

I"m going to try my hand at a couple of greenland type paddles, so I'm looking for a nice finish for them.

[Ron Williamson]

I like varnish with the shine buffed off at the grips.
R

[Thorne]

Protect / preserve from what? UV, water, or impact? My only experience is with refinishing/finishing oars, so take that into account.

On oars I've used boat soup, aka BLO plus Turps and maybe other goodies like a splash of pine tar, then let it cure and lightly sanded before varnishing.

For lightweight impact and moisture protection, you **might** consider CPES as a sealer/primer under the varnish, and if weight allows a teensy bit of epoxy on the tips/edges of the blades.

I've used CPES over boat soup as a final coat before hot-coating the varnish, and it has worked out well so far, but I suspect that the CPES would get a better hold/bond to the wood without the boat soup.

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

There is no good call to get inventive on this.

Decent quality outdoor varnish applied in line with the maker's instructions does the job just fine - farting about with four different chemistries - three of which you don't fully understand - can be a recipe for disaster, DAMHIKT.

[Bob Cleek]

Exactly! You can use CPES as a sealer and then just varnish the buggers. Simple as that. One of the commercial paddle companies has an interesting production trick. They have a paddle length section of pipe slightly larger in diameter than their paddles, filled with varnish. They tie a string to the butt end of the paddle and drop the whole paddle into the varnish filled pipe, pull it out, let it drip, and then hang it to dry. Not practical for just a couple of paddles, but it gives you an idea of how the pros do it without having to worry about brush strokes!

[Bruce Hooke]

While I agree that varnish is a good way to go on the blade, I much prefer some sort of oil finish on the shaft, at least where my hands will be in contact with it. In my experience (more with canoe paddles than kayak paddles), the shaft may get a bit dirty looking but it will not be hurt at all by not being varnished, and your hands will be oh so much happier. If you treat the paddle well, you can get away with oiling the whole paddle, but varnish does help keep the blades in good shape.

As to the exact oil finish...there are many recipes but as I see it the basic equation is:

1. Some oil as the base, take your pick of tung oil or boiled linseed oil.

2. Some real turpentine as the thinner to help it soak in more.

3. Some oil-based varnish (e.g., real "spar varnish") if you want more build, but don't add too much or you will be back to a brush on finish rather than a wipe on finish.

It is hard to go far wrong with this mix, especially if you do some testing first. Just keep in mind the basic rule of wipe-on finishes...don't leave any wet puddles.

It partly depends on what you are going for. The commercial paddle makers need something that offers a lot of protection to the paddle since they don't know how the paddle will be treated and they need something shiny because it sells better. For your own use, varnish will certainly look very nice, but for most paddles I think it would be hard to argue that varnish will add much to either the lifespan or functionality of the paddle as long as you take decent care of the paddle.

[Todd Bradshaw]

I just varnish my Greenland paddles these days. I first tried oiling with either Deks Olje #1 and Watco but found that the grain raising during an outing was abrasive on the hands. Unlike a canoe paddle, you will be paddling with wet hands all the time with a Greenland paddle and to really take advantage of the Greenland paddling techniques, drip rings aren't a very good option. To add the extended-paddle options to your stroke repertoire (which is one of the best things about using a Greenland paddle) you want to be able to slide your hands all the way up and down the entire paddle without needing to jump over drip rings in the process.

You can do this with either an oiled paddle or a varnished paddle, but I simply got tired of having to continually be re-oiling them to keep the grain down so I just varnish mine. If I want a more "natural" look, I'll just rub the gloss down. Mine are cedar, which makes them really light and lively, but a bit coarser, grain-wise, than some other woods might be. It might be less of a problem on denser woods.

I also believe that varnish helps "glue" the fibers of the tips together a bit better and prevents a certain amount of damage and potential splitting. If I had a can of CPES sitting around, I might be tempted to use it before varnish, but plain old varnish seems to be working quite well. I have a couple varnished spruce canoe paddles that I've had for 40 years and they seem to be holding up fine with just an occasional touch-up.

[garland reese]

Thanks guys. I have always varnished my paddles, but I wanted to explore a more natural finish with the greenland type. I've rowed with sweeps that had wood handles that were not finished at all, and while rough on the hands, I like the grip, although with a paddle the grip is not so aggressive, to be sure!

Thank you Todd, for the real-time viewpoint with the greenland paddle. Yes, I was figuring on having to apply an oiled finish pretty often. All things conisdered, it sounds like varnish will be the ticket.... albeit with a bit of rubbing down the gloss a bit. I think I may build a couple and finish one with varnish, and one with a tung oil mix, as mentioned by Bruce, as I do like the feel of oiled wood. I'm not too hard on paddles, so durability should not be too much of an issue. I like making paddles too, but finding a reasonbly good piece of cedar here local is a real challenge.

Thanks to all for the good advice.

[Ed Harrow]

Ifn ya want blisters, varnish the whole of it...

Varnish the blade, if you'd like to reinforce the tip with epoxy, go for it (but that's why we carried one of them new fangled aluminum/plastic paddles.)

For the parts in contact with your hands:
Start with sanding til smooth (maybe 180).
Follow by wet sanding till it's like a baby's backside (down to about 320)
Follow by a bit more sanding, but with boiled linseed oil (same)
Follow by a generous application of boiled linseed oil - which you then wipe off ten or 15 minutes later.
Do that, again, the next day.
Repeat that procedure for a week.
After a month, repeat that procedure.
Repeat monthly for a year.
Repeat yearly until you don't need them anymore.

SWMTMH and I paddled through the Allagash area of Maine every August for about 10 years. Never a blister. Once went paddling with a friend - he had the nicest, shiniest (sp?) paddles we'd ever seen. In what seemed like no time his hands were blistered and the blisters were ripping off. YMMV, of course.

[Randall Dedrickson]

Boiled linseed oil thinned with turpentine has worked for me for years on my greenland paddles. It also helps to make them less slippery with gloves on. Use a good waterproof glue or epoxy if laminating.

[Vinny&Shawn]

I too enjoy the grip part of the oar in the natural state, it feels good and holds well. Try sealing the wood with thinned shellac,then apply mixture of pinetar,linseed and turps.,let it soak in, work it in with your hands or a rag . Clean up yearly with solvent and a lite sanding, do it again,simple ,looks,feels and smells good! Please remember Linseed oil is highly combustable,and needs proper disposal!!!

[Todd Bradshaw]

Personally, after 45 years of paddling canoes and kayaks, I find the old "varnish gives you blisters" line to be pure, absolute, unadulterated hogwash. I used to race canoe marathons, always with varnished paddles as did almost all of the people I was racing against, and never got any blisters. What, on the other hand, WILL give you blisters is bad technique and "overgripping" the paddle - and it won't matter whether your paddle has smooth oil or smooth varnish. Watch a bunch of beginners learning to paddle and you will see some who grip their paddles like they're expecting The Creature From The Black Lagoon to come up and attempt to rip it out of their hands. If they last long enough in the sport, they will often eventually develop forearm or other problems to go along with their blisters.

Varnish your paddle if you like varnish, oil it if you like oil, but please let that old line of crap rumor die out.

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

Personally, after 45 years of paddling canoes and kayaks, I find the old "varnish gives you blisters" line to be pure, absolute, unadulterated hogwash. ......


Basically the same tale - with the proviso that all of my paddling has been "wet hand" - what happens to people with dry hands I simply don't know.

The thing that does get uncomfortable is an ill matched loom - a paddle shaft that doesn't fit the hand - this should be sorted with spokeshave and sandpaper before any finish is applied.

[garland reese]

Yes, that is the nice thing about making your own paddle.... you can shape the loom to feel right in hand. I know there are paddles that are higher-tech, but wood works for my recreational purposes.

I cannot say a varnished paddle causes me more or less blisters, but I do, at times, feel a nice highly varnished paddle feels sort of slippery when wet. It may well be only perception, but if that perception would cause one to overgrip the paddle, well then, THAT would cause issue.

I think I'll make two. One varnished, one oiled, just to see. Probably, not a lot of difference, but I'll know which one I prefer after a while.

Thank you very much for all the great information!

[bob easton]

Come back "after a while" and let us know which you preferred.

[Canoez]

Personally, I prefer an un-varnished grip on my canoe paddles, but the remainder of the paddle spar-varnished. I've heard arguments on both sides of the blister issue. I know for me the one thing that tends to give me blisters is my varnished double-bladed paddle. (the web of skin between thumb and forefinger) I get them once in the spring and never again all seasong.

Then again, my job doesn't let me build too many callouses, either. :D

I think it depends on the individual paddler - skin type, technique, wet/dry, etc.

[Ed Harrow]

but please let that old line of crap rumor die out.

Whatever. I did what an old-time paddler friend of my father's said to do. He'd paddled and poled most anywhere there was an inch of water. I saw what happened to a friend (who, like us, but more so) didn't use his hands on his day job, after a day's strenuous paddle

Like I said, YMMV. (And, before someone asks, "NO", we don't lend our paddles to ANYBODY! (A hammer, maybe. Paddles, never.))

[Brian Palmer]

I'm with Todd on this one. Most paddles today (kayak and canoe) are plastic or aluminum/aluminium shafts, so the varnish or oil debate is irrelevant. I've got some of each, and don't get blisters with either.

Plus, I am a desk jockey during the week and have the hands to prove it.

Brian

[Canoez]

I'm with Todd on this one. Most paddles today (kayak and canoe) are plastic or aluminum/aluminium shafts, so the varnish or oil debate is irrelevant. I've got some of each, and don't get blisters with either.

Plus, I am a desk jockey during the week and have the hands to prove it.

Brian

:eek::eek::eek:

You're gonna go through all the effort to build a wooden canoe/kayak/other and then paddle with a plastic/aluminum paddle?

SHAME!