Beginner question: what to paint my boat hook with?

[MattGER]

Hi All!

Pretty basic question: I have a nice brass boat hook and a pine pole for it. What do I paint the pole with? Just some wood oil like Owatrol? It won't be sitting in the sun or in the wet much as I store my boat in a garage on it's trailer.

Thanks!

Matt

[wizbang 13]

Brass and pine are two junky materials for a boat.
If it’s stored indoors , you may be better off leaving it in painted .

[MattGER]

Brass and pine are two junky materials for a boat.

What materials would you suggest? Also I have to correct myself: it is a bronze hook, not brass.

If it’s stored indoors , you may be better off leaving it in painted .

Just to make sure I understand correctly: did you mean unpainted?

[Peerie Maa]

Brass is a no no if it is constantly in water. For a boat hook it should be OK. I expect that the hook is old already and has survived well so far.
Deks Olje or varnish would be my go to. Both look good, will protect the wood and let you see if there is any deterioration in the pine.

[Geftb]

Linseed oil will darken the timber which you may find goes well with the bronze, is cheap and easy to reapply for when it get scratched up.

[MattGER]

Thank you for the advise and explanation - much appreciated!

Do you think it'd be necessary to also glue the bronze head to the pole? There is a screw it will be attached with but maybe that is not enought?

[sp_clark]

Do you think it'd be necessary to also glue the bronze head to the pole? There is a screw it will be attached with but maybe that is not enought?

Forget glue, just make sure you get enough of the stuff you use on the exposed part of the handle onto the tapered part that'll be inside the 'hook. Water is wood's enemy, water that gets into the socket of the 'hook once you have it put together will tend to stay there, why you need to protect the wood in there maybe better than the part you can see every day.

Sooner or later it'll be time to replace that handle anyway (bronze outlasts wood ~ 1000:1, maybe more) so any glue you'd be putting in there now will just make it harder to get the old wood bits in there out when the inevitable time comes.

Maybe add a second or third screw? Dunno... much depends on how hard it gets used. One ought to be enough if the fit between 'hook's socket and the handle's tapered tenon is a good one.

Oh and be sure to seal up the wood inside the hole(s) you pre-drill for the screw(s) before you marry handle to 'hook' so water doesn't get in there either. And use bronze screw(s), not plain steel or stainless either.

[pvg]

I just used (Epifanes) varnish on mine. Before everyone starts screaming about varnish being too slippery etc, a properly shaped handle (i.e. gently tapered from the hook about 3/4 the length, then flared out again to the end) mitigates this issue...

[nedL]

Varnish.

[johngsandusky]

Whatever you have left over from another job.