I have an old ash paddle from the early 70s. Any finish it had has long worked off, but no cracks or real damage. I'd like to rehab it and use it again, but I'm getting lost in all the conflicting info about how to go about that. Tung oil? Hemp oil? Polyurethane?

Anybody have any real world experience doing something like this?

I would not use a paddle of that vintage. Use it as an antique accent piece. Time to get a new one.

Well, I have new paddles, several of them.....but I'd still like to take care of this one.

I have the first paddle I ever bought, for $10 in 1967. Its a wonderful solid ash paddle and I still use it hard when I am not using my bent. I have been building, restoring and using wood paddles for many decades. The treatment I have been using with the best success for the last few decades is seal coat of epoxy resin followed by simple and cheap marine grade polyurethane. This works especially well on ash which has an open grain and needs a thick seal coat.

Sand off ALL of the old finish. I usually use 60 grit paper with a foam block. I'll use 50 grit if it is thick and have been known to get the wood rasp out on occasion.

Sand smooth with 80 grit then clean it real well. Use a tack cloth at the end.

Coat with epoxy resin. WEST System and System Three and probably others have small quantity kits or trial kits. I think WEST might have it in little packets for a repair kit. You don't need much unless you have other uses for it. The best way to get it into the open grain is to rub it in with your well gloved hand(heavy latex or vinyl) especially the shaft. Make sure at the end that there are no drips or runs.

After curing for several days wash with warm water and clear ammonia to get any wax that some epoxy contains off of the surface.

Sand again, but lightly with 80 grit, than 120 or 150 wet/dry paper.

Apply marine grade poly( has UV filter) as many coats as you like sanding with 220 grit in between coats. After all is done I usually sand the grip with 400 grit so it is not glossy. Others might not care for that. There are many polys out there, but I use cheap stuff from Home Depot, Helmsman I believe. Its not furniture, its a paddle that is going to be knocked around a bunch.

If you keep the poly coating sound, by refreshing when needed the epoxy will last for a loooong time. Makes maintenance easy not having to ever take it back to bare wood.

i've had good luck for years, using a method nearly identical to what is posted on the bending branches web site. so no need for me to retype it.

Bending Branches

Thanks! This is my first paddle too, and I love the way it feels and handles.

Sand the paddle down with a random orbital sander with a 400 grit sandpaper. Then use a tack cloth to remove virtually all sand dust. Then put 3 coats of polyurethane marine spar varnish on and hand sanding with 400 to remove any imperfections. The first coat the wood will be sucking up all the varnish it can. Then after it dries you remove any imperfections by lightly hand sanding. The second coat is then applied and this will be a smoother coat. Again hand sand with 400 grit. Use a tack cloth to remove any dust. The last coat will be very smooth to the touch. I use a piece of plywood with one nail on the handle two nails on the blade. I set the the paddle on the pointy parts of the nail to dry between coats. I don’t get any drips in the varnish this way. Repeat every few trips and you will have that paddle as long as you don’t break it. Want to add that I’ve never had blisters with this method.

One thing to consider is to leave the handle untreated from the poly coats and instead finish the handle with linseed/tung oil. You'll get less friction between your hand and the wood, reducing blisters and hot spots on your hand. Sanborn Canoe Co leaves all their paddle handles unfinished for this reason.
Oil the Grip

Hey dogwoodgirl, I think that every method you hear about works just fine. Personally I much prefer an oil finish to varnish because an oil finish feels better to touch plus it does not stick to your hands on hot, humid days. My preference is strong enough that I have removed the varnish from several paddles and replaced with an oil finish.

For many years I maintained my wood paddles and the wood trim on my canoes using only "gunnel lotion" which is a mixture of 1/3 mineral spirits, 1/3 distilled white vinegar, 1/3 boiled linseed oil. I got the recipe from my favorite canoe shop. To be honest the wood paddles require very little (zero) maintenance unless you damage them and expose the wood. It's usually the tip of the paddle that may get scuffed up and when that happens you just need to give it a quick, light sanding and reapply oil or varnish.

The Grey Owl site FAQs also describe how to refinish paddles. For oil they suggest straight boiled linseed oil. Grey Owl does not offer an oil finish on ash paddles, but Shaw and Tenney does and so does Badger paddles so I'm confident that oil would work just fine on your ash paddle just as it has on my ash gunnels.

I've tried the hemp oil offered by Badger paddles. I like it a lot...what a pleasure to use a food safe product without warnings on the container...no smell and safe to touch. It's a bit pricey but I'll spend the money again.

In my experience you can hand sand the paddle using 100 grit then 150 then 220 and then oil it. Let it dry overnight and do it again...then maybe a third time. Then just look at the paddle every year or two and give it a light coat of oil if it looks thirsty. Takes 3 minutes. Check the tip more often since that's where any damage is likely to start.

If you do go with varnish one thing you can do after you are all done is to sand the shaft lightly (with 150 or 220) and eliminate the shiny finish; the wood will still be protected but the paddle will slide more easily through your hands and feel better.

GickFirk22: "One thing to consider is to leave the handle untreated from the poly coats and instead finish the handle with linseed/tung oil. You'll get less friction between your hand and the wood, reducing blisters and hot spots on your hand. Sanborn Canoe Co leaves all their paddle handles unfinished for this reason.

Oil the Grip "

I've sanded and oiled all of the shafts and handles of my commercial paddles. I like the feel of the oiled surface much better than varnish.