Over many years of teaching people to build skin on frame kayaks I developed a fast, easy system for building Greenland paddles (now available as a FREE hour long video on the our site), but as great as the system is, I’ve never really liked any of the many different coatings I’ve tried over the years. My most recent technique of several coats of tung oil followed by several coats of hard wax gives me the finish and the durability I want but it’s an expensive and labor-intensive process that conflicts with my minimalist sensibilities.
Against my better judgment several years ago I installed homemade reclaimed Douglas fir countertops in the house and took a chance on the hard wax oil finish fully expecting that I would be replacing the counters and the finish within a few years based on previous experience.
On the contrary I’ve been so impressed by the performance of Rubio Monocoat on these relatively soft but hard working countertops that get scrubbed daily, that it only seems natural to try it on a Greenland paddle.
Will Rubio hold up to the ravages of salt and water and constant friction better than any finish I’ve tried yet? It’s too early to tell but I I think it’s such a strong possibility that I just posted a video on the Cape Falcon Kayak YouTube channel talking about the product in detail and showing how to apply it step-by-step.
If you decide to try Rubio on your Greenland paddle please let me know how it’s holding up after a hard season of paddling. Big bonus points if you have experience with the durability of other finishes after the same amount of use.
Full YouTube video embedded at the bottom of this post.
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