Water-proof/boil-proof stains for paddles?

no clues for what your looking for, but welcome to the site.
a Burnsville guy

 

I have done some woodworking in the past, did a couple of fancy kitchen cutting boards. Because it has to be food-safe, mineral oil is the only finish I know of that would give you a nice shine and still be o.k. to actually use in the mash.

Let it soak in really well, and burnish with a soft rag when you are done.

Good luck, and post a pic when you are done. Would love to see it.

 

Unfinished maple is pretty popular and probably fairly traditional. Personally I would not stain/finish anything that's going to come into contact with wort/beer. Can't think of anything that would be so durable that it doesn't get into the wort.

And oils are bad for beer's foam retention.

 

Unfinished is the only way to go. The paddles will develop a nice coloration of their own. I am using an unfinished maple paddle and it's starting to look pretty nice. I really need to use it more often.

 

Nice work. I guess the consensus is just start using it now!

 

I hate to put a damper on the discussion, but cedar is some mighty aromatic wood. Seems like your paddle might impart some cedar character to your beer. I'm only speculating here.

 

next brew: Cedar aged imperial stout?

 

Eh, you are correct that Cedar can add character to a beer, but I would think that simply stirring with a mash paddle would be fine, the amount of time the wood is in contact with the beer is negligible and should have no effect at all.

 

Been using untreated 1" poplar dow rods for years. Cheap, wieldy, no effect on the beer, and easy to mark the kettle depths.

That said, I do appreciate a purdy mash paddle!

 

I made mine out of cherry and just left it unfinished.

 

I would stay away from stains and finishes as well. That being said, the type and quality of the wood will make the best difference in appearance. I made mine out of tiger maple. When it gets wet in the mash the tiger stripe figure in the wood really stands out and it looks cool. Paddles aren't very big so its usually not to expensive to get enough figured wood to make one.

 

I made my mash paddle out of a wooden pizza peel that was give to me and I didn't want to keep after a use or two. I didn't treat it at all and it seems to work great.