Re: wooden handle scoop tip taken from Stavrscoop webpage.
Thanks for the tip.
I like the square shaft scooper; Could you set me up on where to get one?
I have just been using a shovel and need to upgrade. It was good exercise for a while.
Re: wooden handle scoop tip taken from Stavrscoop webpage.
I tried the Parafin wax earlier this year. It worked great, until I was was in South Florida in the summer and left it in the car. It did clean up ok with a hair dryer. If I was not going to be in real hot weather, it is nice and real easy on the hands. The big stuff breaks off after a while but leaves a thin coat. If you used it every day you may need to re-do it once every month or two.
What I tried next, which worked great but not quite as easy on the hands, is Ace Hardware Spar varnish. This is the preferred brand for people who build fly fishing rods. It leaves a glossy glass like coating and looks real slick.
Re: wooden handle scoop tip taken from Stavrscoop webpage.
I'm with Goldinwater, polyurethane. I did refinishing years ago on auto's, wood skateboards, fiberglass surfboards..I did all the custom stuff..pinstripping, airbrush and topped it all of with urethane clears, which last for years.........
Re: wooden handle scoop tip taken from Stavrscoop webpage.
The trick when using paraffin wax is to boil the wood in the wax. The wood fibers expand and the wax penetrates deep inside. Doing the ends would be easy but it would take some ingenuity to figure out how to do a long handle. The first thing that comes to mind is to make a trough out of rain gutter. Just try to use a double boiler arrangement so there's less chance of making a (flaming) candle out of your handle!
Whites Surfmaster PI Pro and Whites Surfmaster PI, Minelab Excal NY blue sword.
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Re: wooden handle scoop tip taken from Stavrscoop webpage.
That is probably what the heat gun does, heat the wood and wax and lets it soak in deep. I am sure it is like any oil/waxy oil type wood finish, that it has to be cleaned and done several times a year. Teak is the wood that is usually done with this. It has natural oils in it. Hickory or oak are not good woods to use in water, even when oiled. But if taken care of and oiled/waxed every couple months, it should make it last for years. If left alone it wont. Looks like a good choice over just oiling it with teak oil/tung oil or boiled linseed oil. Or you could use the heat gun on those oil finishes too and it might work better, but with parafin a harder form of oil, it might just last a lot longer. As you might know if you use a heat gun on a varnish, polyureathane or paint, it will peel right off, so dont do that.
Whites Surfmaster PI Pro and Whites Surfmaster PI, Minelab Excal NY blue sword.
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Re: wooden handle scoop tip taken from Stavrscoop webpage.
Randyd, you probably know about pressure treated lumber and how they put it under many 100 lbs of pressure in a pressure chamber to make it soak in a ways. Well if you just soak it not under pressure it wont go in far. You could do the regular varnish thing, which is make a 50/50 mix of varnish and mineral spirits, and that is your first coat. What ever you use will only soak in so many cells deep, unless it is forced, or the cells open and let it is a little more. The thinner it is, the further it will go in, up to a point. But if it is kept up, it should be a good barrier coating.
Re: wooden handle scoop tip taken from Stavrscoop webpage.
The urethanes I used were 2 parts...Clear coat and the harder...Dupont Imron 500s, Ditzler Dau 82, both requiring a catalyst to hardner.....once mixed, life was less then 4 hours until it turned solid.