I've got a pair of wooden Bell paddles that are a bit beat up. I'm going to sand and refinish them, and need a suggestion as to what to use to coat them. I remember hearing something about a marine grade sealer on this forum, but I can't recall the brand name.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
I take good care of them, but I'd like to protect them from the other guy, if you know what I mean. People can be hard on equipment, you know?
Thank you
Matt

Sand them down well, then recoat with Helmsman Spar Varnish (available at most hardware stores and home centers)


If you have large nicks you want to fill, get some of the thickened gel 5 minute epoxys out there and fill and sand before the spar varnish.

MWD is right. Use Helmsman marIne spar varnish. Sand smooth and put three coats on it. Sand with 400 grit between coats.

thanks duders. i think that's what the board suggested i use on my gunnels as well. you know what they say - when your memory goes, forget about it.

quote wigone: "thanks duders. i think that's what the board suggested i use on my gunnels as well. you know what they say - when your memory goes, forget about it."

THIS should be used on gunwales.

haha shoot no i used watco that's right i used watco on the craft, that's right. like i said about mammary thing...

Helmsman as suggested for the new paddles I have made.

Watco on 2 old beavertail from the 70s. Stripped them down and oiled 6 times then after trips each time.

The grips of all my paddles get the watco. Just like the feel of the oil finish on the grips.

You can make your own from 2 parts boiled linseed oil and 1 part turpentine. I also use this on my gunwales,seats and yoke. Watco is linseed oil base FWIW.

CB

i varnish the blades but oil the rest.that seems to cut down on the blisters.

wigner:
You should be just fine with Spar Varnish. I had a cheapo paddle that I bought at Dick's Sporting goods that I sanded down and refinished. I used 3 coats of Spar Varnish (sanding between coats with super fine steel wool) and it has held up fantasticly.

If you want to go super-hard-core-delux you can refinish them with Yacht Varnish which has very high UV protection and a harder finish but IMO you are just wasting money (it is like $50 for a small can)

Be careful sanding with steel wool between coats of Varnish. If you leave a small piece of steel wool on the paddle or in the wood fibers they will discolor the wood if they get wet. IMO I would use 220 grit paper or 400 grit sand paper. Before you put the first coat on clean with a rag dipped in methylated spirits. Another tip is to support your paddle on three blocks of wood with three small finish nails sticking out. You will have almost no runs if you let the paddle dry this way. Then flip over and coat the other side.

When I apply my oil to paddles I use steel wool dipped in the oil.
CB

anyone know what's up with these giant white splotches? i've hit it with 80, 120, 180, then a finishing pad. finish is great, smooth, there's a few knicks here and there but hey that's character. but i'm not sure the varnish will even out the shading there, it's pretty severe.

advice? should i start over and sand that out?

did you use interior polyurethane by mistake? if you do end up starting over dont sand. use a stripper. (insert jokes now folks)

you are looking at raw wood here, i haven't applied any varnish yet

huh. i have no idea then.

looks like you took off the Bell Label and that's where the white marks are...hummmm..i have the same problem with my Bell canoe,the same white stuff inside the canoe that won't come off..

i'm kinda thinking these white spots are where i went too hard on the paddle with the 80grit. there was some sticker backing left and it took some grinding away with the sander to clean it up. maybe just go back by hand and start over monday...

The white parts are where you got through the faded old finish. Take a closer look. You can see the Bell label because it didnt get faded under it. You need to sand the rest of the faded old finish off. It should all look lighter in color then. Keep stripping it down, your not done yet.
CB

yeah i was thinking about that - i'm thinking that the lighter parts are where i've removed all the old varnish, and the dark areas are where the old stuff had soaked in deeper, and that's where i need to work a bit more.

but i'll betcha tho with a fresh coat of that spar, the color will even out...

thanks

yeah a bit more work on the second paddle and it really cleaned up nice! thanks for the input!
matt

quote wigone: " "

They finished up very nice. It took some work to remove the spots.

i didn't want to go too deep, you know? i hated gettin too far into the wood. i should have taken pics of the neck near the handle where my buddy just tore up the paddle real bad. he's got a prosthetic arm with this metal clamp that shredded the paddle. it's def skinnier there, now but still in good shape. can't wait to get out and get them wet, but the weather is miserable here this weekend, super windy and cold. maybe this week...
thanks for the help and thanks for looking