Hi, just curious what finish is recommended for a stabilized wood reel seat insert. Is exterior varathane ok or is there a better coating.

Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil should be a good substitute, it's used as a gun stock finish and I've read it is used on bar tops. All my personal cork reel seats get 5-6 coats and my 8 year old rods still look new, never had any pits fills fall out and dirt seems to repel along with hand oil.

Ray Zarychta
Glastonbury, CT

If the wood has been stabilized, just buff/polish it to a high sheen. No finish necessary.

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We dip all of ours in spar urethane

Normally stabilized wood does not need and protective coating, however I use paste wax for piece of mind.

Good luck

John

I use two coats of thread wrap epoxy and it works amazingly well.

I've found that unfinished stabilized inserts are still willing to absorb moisture. They also lose their luster over time. As a result, I apply hand rubbed coats of Pro Custom Oil, a Tung oil gun stock finish, to all of my wood inserts..

"The greatest barrier to discovery is not ignorance, it's the illusion of knowledge" - Daniel J. Boorstin

A lot of us float rod guys use CA.

Your favorite moisture curing urethane should work well.

The best finish depends on the species of wood in my opinion, whether stabilized or not. Tru Oil works very well on wood that does not have "oils" in it to begin with, for example, Honduran Rosewood, normally this is an oily wood, so a CA finish usually works the best. Something like Cherry, Walnut or Black Ash, Tru Oil can be used, several coats left glossy, or hand rubbed to a satin finish. Urethane's also work very well on these woods too.

Thank you all for responses to this post. There is quite a variety of finish options that you all are using.