protecting paddle tips
Posted by: ret603 on Mar-04-13 3:29 PM (EST)
As with paddle coatings, there are a number of choices.
One can do nothing extra and then sand the damaged tips and refinish frequently. Some makers inlay a hardwood spline in the tip and glue it with waterproof glue. This spline should have the grain running from side to side, not towards the tip. Others glue on hardwood tips with a biscuit or mortice and dowels.
There are some who run thin hardwood strips on tips and up the side edge. Traditionalists sometime inlay bone or white "plastic" material to simulate the appearance of bone.
Plain epoxy coating on the tip works slightly better than nothing, but is not very durable. Much better is WEST G-Flex epoxy thickened with silica filler and used to cap the tip or to run a bead around it. This is what I presently use. Without additives it cures to a bone like beige color. It can be sanded to shape, colored, painted whatever you choose.
Dave