Sticky Canoe Paddle?

Advice
#1

I have a carbon canoe paddle with a plastic palm grip. If I get the smallest amount of Bug Spray on it it during a trip it becomes a sticky mess. Is there any spray paint that is somewhat chemical resistant? The guy at the hardware store reccomended MinnWax Polyurethane.

#2

Sad that you are dissolving your paddle
Keep the DEET off your palms.



Spray it on the back of your hands and then use the backs to apply the stuff to the rest of you.



The stickiness is a symptom of damage. DEET does not play well with many plastics.

#3

That is correct. Here’s what I do.

– Last Updated: Jul-06-10 5:25 PM EST –

I don't have any paddles that react that way, but other stuff (like the handles of fishing reels) certainly does. My solution is to smear DEET where needed using the palms of my hands, and THEN I wash my hands with a bit of water and dry them by wiping on those parts of my clothing where mosquitoes tend to bite through the cloth. That way, I remove the stuff from my hands so I don't damage plastic things that I touch, AND I apply DEET to critical parts of my clothing without "over-doing it" (remember, once applied to clothing, the stuff can't be spread out more thinly over a larger area as can be done when applying it to skin, so diluting the residue that's already on your hands and wiping it off on clothes works much better than a fresh application from bottle to hands to clothes). Killing two birds with one stone is always a good thing, and there's nothing inconvenient about either half of this dual-purpose method (it's actually a three-purpose method if you include the end result of having clean hands).

#4

Gloves?
I suggest wearing gloves, that will keep the bugs, and sun too, off the backs of your hands and keep the deet from the paddle. I like not having to put sunscreen on my hands - bugs aren’t much of a problem here yet.

#5

Random ideas with unproved
results:


  1. Use the Krylon spray paint that is designed for plastics to paint the grip.


  2. Replace the grip with a CF grip (ouchie - very $$$$$ intensive)


  3. Spray clothing with permethrin and cut back on the DEET.


  4. Replace the grip with an oiled wood grip.


  5. I have no #5 idea.



    Jim

    Thinkin’ outside the box