Anybody know where to get and what is a good epoxy for paddle shaft? I'm trying to redue my paddle shaft and someone told me that I need to sand off the old stuff with 320 sandpaper to bare wood and paint it with an epoxy enamel or paint brush then a coat of poly enamel.
Submitted by aaronlabuguen on Mon, 06/02/2008 - 9:31pm
Don't use 320 if you're going down to bare wood, you'll take forever. 180 or 220 are both good. Actually, any grit is good ie: 80, 120, whatever, but if you use a coarser grit, just remember to switch to a finer grit when you hit the wood so you don't start take circumference off your shaft. Also, remember to finish sanding it (220) well to take out all the scratches in the shaft you'll make (you won't have this problem if you use a fine grit for the whole problem, but it'll also take you longer). I know this'll sound like a hassle, but if you are doing the shaft, you might as well do the blade too. It can't hurt to refinish the blade. Also, plus if you only do the shaft, the blade and shaft won't match because they'll have different finishes, and you'll probably have a seam where the two different finishes meet. That might be nit-picky, but why not?
To finish, if you can spend some cash, go to Fiberglass Hawaii and get Aluzine Epoxy. It's sold under 'Epoxy Resin Clear', and it's 2:1. It's a UV marine epoxy and also doesn't yellow, which is a problem most paddle finishes run into after a couple years. Again, being nit-picky. Your wood will look SICK with this finish and I guarantee you that you'll never have to finish your paddle again. It's low viscosity so will fill the wood grain really well, eliminating the need for a 'sanding seal' coat, which is usually a thin varnish coat you use to really penetrate the wood before you apply your normal viscosity varnish. For finishing, the Aluzine Epoxy will be the best you can use. Drawback? For 32oz. Epoxy/16 oz. Hardener will be in the neighborhood of $35-$45 bucks. You won't use all of it, that's just the smallest size they sell, on Maui anyway. Check with your local Fiberglass Hawaii. If your paddle has only got a year or two left in it anyway and you don't want to drop the cash for the epoxy, any specialty varnish or polyurethane finish from Lowe's or Home Depot should be sufficient. Just make sure it says 'Outdoor', and even 'Marine' if possible. I've used 'Varathane' before with good results, and more recently 'Spar Marine' which is actually a thinned out epoxy if you read the contents. Whatever you decide to go with, you can expect to pay around $10-$15.
If you use the epoxy, two GOOD coats (no missing spots) will meet the bare necessities for sufficiency. Do this to keep weight down. Every additional coat, depending how thick you lay it, will add around .25-.5 an ounce. Score surface between coats for better adhesion, make sure to do so evenly as this will affect the surface texture of the next coat. I haven't used varnish or polyurethane in a while, so you'd be better off asking someone else for advice on that. If I could guess, I would say at least 4 coats.
Aluzine epoxy comes in fast hardener and slow hardener. Fast hardener is fast ie: you CAN do a coat if you move quickly and don't mess up and have to go back. However, this will most likely gel in the cup as you're finishing, so you really can afford no mistakes. Slow is SLOW, meaning you'll finish the paddle no problem, but it takes a really long time to dry. With the fast, you can put the final coat on and have it in the water (if you really need to) as soon as 3 hours later depending on the weather (temperature). I would suggest letting it cure longer though, like a day. Hope this helps.
#1 Mon, 06/02/2008 - 10:35pm
Mahalo FF kino, that aluzine epoxy, is it spray can or paint brush kine?
#2 Mon, 06/02/2008 - 11:13pm
It's brush on, which is preferred cause the coat is thicker and better (you penetrate the pores of the wood better) than a spray coating. One thing-if you use a foam brush with the aluzine and fast hardener, which is what I prefer, you have to be quick cause if you're not, as the epoxy starts gelling and setting, chunks of the foam will start ripping off the brush and sticking in the epoxy on your paddle, which'll leave a big ol' mess. If you go with the slow, shouldn't be a problem. If you go with Fast, one thing you can do is if you have a spare piece of wood around your house, mix a little epoxy, let it sit 5 minutes (time running so you can simulate epoxy at/nearing the end of it's working time), and spread it out with different brushes over that spare piece of wood so you can get a feel with what you're dealing with before you do your paddle. You can use a bristle brush i'm sure, I just have no experience with that so can't give you any advice on that. I can suggest using a good quality bristle brush so the bristles don't pull out and get stuck to your paddle, but at the same time, it's a one-use-only, so how much do you want to spend on that brush. What you can do is use a foam brush for the first layer, cause you're gonna snad this layer back a little for adhesion anyway, and you can sand level any mistakes. If you do well with the foam, stick to it. If not, switch to the bristle for the just the last coat. Again, sanding level in between coats is key cause this ultimately determines the final texture of your paddle surface.
With that said, you will have less of a hassle if you wanted to go with Varathane spray cans from Lowe's or what not. It'll be more even with less labor. However, the quality of coat will not be as good a quality as epoxy, and because a spray coat is so much thinner, you need to do alot more coats with more drying time. Where this will take you a couple days up to a week to finish, epoxy with fast hardener can be done in a day or two if done right. Also, getting two cans will also run you over $20 so you might of as well bought the epoxy.
#3 Mon, 06/02/2008 - 11:49pm
if you decide to use a bristle brush, wrap 2" masking tape around your hand a few times with the sticky side out. then jam the new clean bristle brush against it a bunch of times till all the loose bristles are pulled out by the tape. then you'll end up with almost no bristles in your finish.
#4 Tue, 06/03/2008 - 12:19am
dude, last time I put epoxy on my shaft I had major issues. Oh wait, we're talking paddles. Silly me....
#5 Tue, 06/03/2008 - 7:25am
Not that theres anything wrong with FF Kino's method, but I do it this way:
1) sand 150
2) Smiths penetrating epoxy
3) light sand cured smiths with 220
4) 1-2 coats west systems 105/205
5) Light sand cured epoxy with 320
6) Spray Clear Linear Polyurethane. I like Imron or Chroma Clear.
Let cure 24 hours. The Imron is if you want a pretty damn good gloss coat without sanding. The Chroma is if you want a super sweet gloss finish. in which case, wet sand with 2000 and polish.
#6 Tue, 06/03/2008 - 7:50am
Poly sticks to Epoxy?? I didn't know that. Your last step, #6, you're spraying poly to epoxy. Sounds like a plan. Never knew you could do that, always stayed away from that.
#7 Tue, 06/03/2008 - 8:44am
Make sure you wipe off dust and oils witha clean solvent before and after you sand with the 320. I use http://sem.ws/Catalog.asp?prod=81
#8 Tue, 06/03/2008 - 9:18am
Polys should bond to epoxy fine, always check with manufacturer of whatever products you're working though just to be sure. And prep surface well like AQ says. Don't go the other way though.
#9 Tue, 06/03/2008 - 9:47am
Mahalo to all who gave there input except poopmouth paddler, cant stop posting stoopid stuff.
#10 Tue, 06/03/2008 - 3:49pm
He caught himself once he realized it was about paddles.
Honest silly mistake I say.
#11 Tue, 06/03/2008 - 5:30pm