# how to refinish oars



## CeeEee (May 30, 2013)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teY3O8U16so


----------



## DoubleShadow (May 2, 2013)

Sweet Video! Just what I needed, I'm going to clean mine up this week as I put all my gear away for the year. Cheers!


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

You can use Spar urethane and do this every year, or use 2 part epoxy from https://www.westsystem.com/ and never do it again... Same prep, just paint on the epoxy, keep the oars above 60 degrees and it cures overnight. Make sure you buy the clear epoxy and not the translucent stuff if you wanna look at the oars wrapping.


----------



## CeeEee (May 30, 2013)

MNichols said:


> You can use Spar urethane and do this every year, or...


Did you see the part in the video where I said, "Half you you are going to tell me I'm doing it wrong, and the other half will find a more complicated way to do it?"

Yeah. That's one of my favorite parts of the video.


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

Yep, I watched it, you laid out the process well. I just suggested a longer lasting coating, the point of your last post is that you're clairvoyant?


I cursed the cataract shafts for years, having to go thru the mess of sanding and spraying urethane yearly, and then still getting fiberglass on my skin, a friend who builds wooden boats coats his wooden oars in epoxy, said it has lasted for 10 years. 

Who wouldn't want to know this information? I know I sure did. 



Thanks for the video, and sorry I apparently crapped in your cheerio's


----------



## griz (Sep 19, 2005)

Pretty sure CeeEee pulled me over in South Parkistan last weekend.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6iRff_gqxc0


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

griz said:


> Pretty sure CeeEee pulled me over in South Parkistan last weekend.
> 
> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6iRff_gqxc0


ROTFLMAO!!

Thanks for the laugh Griz!


----------



## SlipShot (Mar 26, 2018)

MNichols said:


> You can use Spar urethane and do this every year, or use 2 part epoxy from https://www.westsystem.com/ and never do it again... Same prep, just paint on the epoxy, keep the oars above 60 degrees and it cures overnight. Make sure you buy the clear epoxy and not the translucent stuff if you wanna look at the oars wrapping.


Which product do you purchase and how much?


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

I use the 105 resin and the 207 clear hardener, 

https://www.westsystem.com/105-epoxy-resin/ 

https://www.westsystem.com/207-special-clear-hardener/

I buy it by the gallon but I think a quart would do 4 oars with some left over for other projects. It's got a decent shelf life, and the metering pumps they sell help immensely with mixing the proper quantities. It works well with fiberglass matting and is also good for laminating wood.

https://www.westsystem.com/coating-quantity/, it says will cover 90 to 105sf per quart for the initial coat, and if you want to put on build up coats it'll cover 120 it 135 sf. I'd recommend 3 coats, you can do that all in a day. 

You can purchase similar products from US Composites and other suppliers but I like the westsystem as it has little smell to it compared to other products I've used.


----------



## elkhaven (Sep 11, 2013)

While it does end with a super nice finish, that resin isn't UV stabilized and will break down. I do believe that west systems does make a stabilized resin, but I'm not sure. If you use what nichols has suggested, you should still coat with a UV protectant..... like Spar Varnish.... so now your doing it twice anyways.

I've done both and the 2 part epoxy lasted about 5 years (no UV stabilizer, nor overcoat). Now, I just buy a can of spray on spar varnish and spray my oars every two years or so. I literally wipe them down with steel wool, wipe of with a damp rag and spray. It takes about 20-30 minutes per coat and I keep coating until the can is gone, usually 2 or so heavy coats. I also got rid of all my cataract oars years ago in favor of sawyers, as they don't leave splinters. I re-coat them purely for aesthetics. 

just my 2 pennies.


----------



## elkhaven (Sep 11, 2013)

So now I feel bad, I didn't watch the video as I've refinished lots of oars (pretty much everyone's I regularly boat with)..... but decided to check it out. What he does, is exactly the way I do it, except I have tons of steel wool around, so I use that vs scotch bright... beer, steel wool, beer, spray, beer, spray, beer, float, beer, beer, beer. cheers CeeEee... love the ending, happy little rower in training!!!


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

Looks like this might be a route to follow, and I second sawyer's! I keep my oars inside when not on the boat though so UV degradation isn't an issue for me

https://everlight-uva.com/products/...MIsY6ttozU5QIVD56fCh06qgQkEAAYAiAAEgIuL_D_BwE


----------



## Alpnrafter (Sep 4, 2009)

For Sawyer oars, you can skip the sanding. Just adds extra work with no benefit.


----------



## GOTY2011 (Mar 18, 2018)

For composite products, yes. Wood paddles and oars should be treated seasonally with a sanding, spar varnish, and stored upright. I've seen too many wood oars destroyed by leaving them in the boat over the winter, but that's more common with hard drift boat owners than rafters. 



Alpnrafter said:


> For Sawyer oars, you can skip the sanding. Just adds extra work with no benefit.


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

GOTY2011 said:


> For composite products, yes. Wood paddles and oars should be treated seasonally with a sanding, spar varnish, and stored upright. I've seen too many wood oars destroyed by leaving them in the boat over the winter, but that's more common with hard drift boat owners than rafters.



Well, I own 2 wooden dories, an 18 foot and a 14 foot, they and their oars are well taken care of in the winter, Oars inside, boats covered under a roof outside.. I actually don't know a Doryman who would mistreat his gear. Perhaps the fishermen in your locale don't care so much, but...


----------



## elkhaven (Sep 11, 2013)

MNichols said:


> Well, I own 2 wooden dories, an 18 foot and a 14 foot, they and their oars are well taken care of in the winter, Oars inside, boats covered under a roof outside.. I actually don't know a Doryman who would mistreat his gear. Perhaps the fishermen in your locale don't care so much, but...


"Doryman" in plural would be a very small subset of "drift boat" owners in general. I'm certain you are correct, but any drive through any fishing town in the west will illustrate Gotty's point. I can count probably 50 DB's daily sitting in drive ways, following their trusty steeds (typically some form of Toyota truck or SUV) down the highway or sitting out in fields that are uncovered, collecting water and at this time of year ice (and are thusly frost wedging the chines apart or cracking the fiberglass). EVERY ONE has the oars strapped between the front and rear fishing seat sitting in the full glory of the almighty glowing ORB. The vast majority are glass or aluminum open "fly fishing" craft, owned by trustafarians that could give one grain of fly shit if their craft made it past the warranty date.... Daddy will just buy another.

Hence, the Doryman claim is lost within the storm of general indifference.... 

Oh and yes, many of these are now fir shafts with carbon blades, this seems to be the new thing amongst the horde's of water whipers these days. GRRR, now I'm as grumpy as the Coloradan's pining the Great Pumpkins of the San Juan!


----------



## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

MNichols said:


> I use the 105 resin and the 207 clear hardener,
> 
> https://www.westsystem.com/105-epoxy-resin/
> 
> ...


I use US Composites (because I had it on hand from another project) and would agree. it's a good, strong, budget epoxy, but it has some amine odor, and also blushes. Blush must be washed off with warm soapy water before a top finish.

Epoxy doesn't have great UV resistance, but is awesome for wood protection. Put the epoxy on to protect the substrate, the spar on to protect the epoxy.

I have a friend's Cataracts to refinish this winter. I plan to use a clear 2-part urethane.



MNichols said:


> Looks like this might be a route to follow, and I second sawyer's! I keep my oars inside when not on the boat though so UV degradation isn't an issue for me
> 
> https://everlight-uva.com/products/...MIsY6ttozU5QIVD56fCh06qgQkEAAYAiAAEgIuL_D_BwE





elkhaven said:


> Oh and yes, many of these are now fir shafts with carbon blades, this seems to be the new thing amongst the horde's of water whipers these days. GRRR, now I'm as grumpy as the Coloradan's pining the Great Pumpkins of the San Juan!


LMK when those water wipers sell their Sawyer squaretops on Marketplace all cloudy and spidered. I'll refinish and flip them.


----------



## GOTY2011 (Mar 18, 2018)

Hard boat = fiberglass and as the previous poster described. Wooden boat owners generally have a better understanding of how to maintain wood oars...



MNichols said:


> Well, I own 2 wooden dories, an 18 foot and a 14 foot, they and their oars are well taken care of in the winter, Oars inside, boats covered under a roof outside.. I actually don't know a Doryman who would mistreat his gear. Perhaps the fishermen in your locale don't care so much, but...


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

GOTY2011 said:


> Hard boat = fiberglass and as the previous poster described. Wooden boat owners generally have a better understanding of how to maintain wood oars...



Interesting. I'm in Colorado, our fishermen on the Ark in large part keep their gear indoors, but then they aren't trust funders... Thanks for the clarification


----------



## GOTY2011 (Mar 18, 2018)

Regardless, everyone can be better informed on how to protect their gear which is the purpose of this thread. I think you're making a leap too far in your assumptions, however. 



MNichols said:


> Interesting. I'm in Colorado, our fishermen on the Ark in large part keep their gear indoors, but then they aren't trust funders... Thanks for the clarification


----------



## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

GOTY2011 said:


> Regardless, everyone can be better informed on how to protect their gear which is the purpose of this thread.


Absolutely.

The biggest killer is sunlight. If you're on the rio 90 days a season and your gear gets killed by UV, you're getting your money's worth. If you're like most of us and you're out 20 days but your gear is in the sunshine the other 70 (or more)...you're losing gear life without getting use out of it. not everyone can keep their gear indoors, but keeping it covered is a close second in benefit.

Second is mold/dirt/water. Water itself isn't bad, but water+dirt+organics is bad.


Edit: and while I think there are better ways to finish Cataract oars more permanently, I hate fiberglass-itchy Cataracts, so a coat of spray spar urethane is far better than nothing!!!


----------

