Handle finish.

[redout]

I'm about ready to test fly my Banshee so looked through my drawer of c/l stuff and found this handle which I must have bought a few years ago. I notice the handle is un-treated ( bare ) wood.

I am thinking with some use, that wood is going to absorb sweat ( especially in the upcoming summer here down under ).

What do you guys do about this ? Do you finish the handle with something to prolong it's life ?

Thanks,

Richard.

[fred cesquim]

i have rounded the corners, doped, sanded, than brushed a  mix of yellow and 2 part clear coat
my logo decal is water slide and was added before the second clear coat(no yellow this time)

[Larry Renger]

Wayer based Urethane works for me. I add some transtint dye. (Available from Rockler)

[Steve Dwyer]

I brush painted mine with a red gloss alkyd paint I had on the shelf. The alkyd is impervious to 10% fuel and the red color is easily seen when placed alongside other's handles stacked up on the flite line. Year's back my hard point replaced my old trusted U-Reely, best move I ever made.

Steve

[Ken Culbertson]

Minwax polycrylic.  5 coats.  Cleans up easily and handles the circle abuse well.  Easy to touch up.

Ken

[Lyle Spiegel]

i go to Dick Sporting and buy a roll of the sticky gauze that is used to wrap the handle on tennis rack or baseball bat. I wrap the handle grip with a few layers. When ever it gets dirty / soaked from prespiration, just replace with a new wrapping. I like to use red , makes it easier to see the handle in the grass.

[Jim Hoffman]

I use a wrap on the handle to give a good no slip grip surface.  Especially helpful with an oily hand.

I use 3M Coban Self Adherent Wrap.

[Maksim Dubovitsky]

I use Marine (yacht) Polyurethane Clear Coat. Even a sweaty hand does not slip.

[john e. holliday]

I keep going back to my unfinished handles as it seems they don't slip in my grip like th finished ones do.  I still use my trusty Hot Rock handle for first flights on new plane.  Then I go to hard point for final trim.

[kevin king]

Sig Dope & 2k Automotive polyurethane.

[bill bischoff]

I use finish-cure epoxy, sanded smooth and burnished to a satin finish with 000 steel wool.

[Brett Buck]

I have a variety, if it was going to do it today I would use wipe-pn polyurethane, it's not critical. Then, wrap it with this or some equivalent:


https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Tourna_Gauze_Grip_Tape/descpageUNIQUE-UGT.html


   Brett

[redout]

Thanks everyone. There's some good information in all that - certainly things I had not thought of. I like the idea of finishing the bare wood to protect it then applying some sort of grip tape.

[Ara Dedekian]

I use Marine (yacht) Polyurethane Clear Coat. Even a sweaty hand does not slip.

      Me too. The handle on the right has a marine urethane coating providing a no slip grip.

      The handle on the left turned into a disaster using Min-Wax Polycrillic waterbased Urethane. I was looking for a clear finish to let the colors come through. Despite the recommendations by Forum members, it turns into a sticky goo from sweat(?), fuel(?). I had to use alcohol to get it off the handle which then marred the latex paint. Same result on the few times I coated areas on my planes with it.

      Ara

[Frank Imbriaco]

I painted my Kaz handles with an area of green on the top and red on the bottom. Some say it's hard to pick up a handle backwards with the safety tong attached to the bottom, but ...

[Steve Helmick]

Two coats (brushed) of Z-poxy finishing resin on the balsa, sanded after the 1st coat, and wrapped with fishing rod grip tape. I'm not looking for a work of art...like some. 1.5mm CF plate core with the holes bushed works fine. Mine is rather heavy at 25 grams. Some guys make 15 gram handles, but I doubt if I could discern the difference.  Steve 

[rich gorrill]

I also wrap handles with the sticky tape, easy to change whendirty and never gets slippery from fuel residue on your hands.

[Brent Williams]

Pat Johnston coats his handles with epoxy and sprinkles rough garnet sand on the grip area. 
No tape.  Feels very grippy.

[kevin king]

Here you go.

[Dan McEntee]

Here you go.

  I have a couple of those. Nice for sport flying, or easy does it fun type racing events. I wish they didn't have the slant to them but I can deal with it.
 
   Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

[Ted Fancher]

Sig Dope & 2k Automotive polyurethane.

Kevin King!  You, for sure, are awarded the Concours D'Elegance for handle beauty!  The plaque enshrining it should be in the mail soon!

Ted Fancher

[kevin king]

Haha Ted, thank you, and you got my vote on the nicest cowl ever built!

[Istvan Travnik]

My 40 years old handle made of PVC (vinyl) plastic.
In recent years I cover it with fine soft leather, (which used to cover tennis rackets), but with inside surface out.
In 3-4 years it got oily, dirty, ugly: I change it. (Glued by CA)

[Fred Cronenwett]

I put gloss clear polyurethane on my handles