Finish on Heritage Lakers

[flagup!]

So I have 6 Heritage Laker classic style.  I have 2 old 30+ yrs unfinished with aluminum spools(I got these used),  I bought the others new.  2 that are 10 years old unfinished with plastic spools and 2 black painted from the company that are the newest ones probably 6 years old.   The painted set is starting to chip but the wood underneath does not look like the same quality or even the same type of wood as the unfinished ones.  The aluminum set (oldest ones) almost look like they are maple or birch the grain is very fine. Does anyone know if they used other types of wood?.  The newer unfinished set is definitely Oak.  The painted ones are all grey and dried out where the paint chipped compared to the unfinished tip ups.  I am no wood expert so they could be oak, but I'm not sure.  Guess I'm asking, why the painted ones are in such terrible shape compared to the others and are they oak or not?  I sanded one of the painted ones and was going to paint it again then I decided to just throw some linseed oil on it.   I'll strip them down to bare wood after the season is over.     

[dogfish]

I have a bunch of HL's that i picked up one or two here and there over a long period of time.
Some are hardwood like you said look to be maple or beech others are softwood pine or spruce.  I don't have any that look to be oak but who knows it appears that they used whatever they got a deal on?

All of mine I took the cross pieces off when i got them.  Mixed up a bunch of 2 part epoxy and gave all the wood pieces an epoxy finish.  It has held up great, tough as iron,

[adkRoy]

If you are going to stain or put linseed oil, make sure to get all the paint off.  The paint might be coming off because paint only lasts so long on wood that is repeatedly immersed in water and snow.  You can always paint them again but I do recommend stripping and staining. They'll last longer and look better.

[Gamalot]

I have 5 unfinished HLs I bought around 10-15 years ago. All the same and all with the black plastic spools. The wood is absolutely NOT Oak and I suspect it to be either White Ash or Poplar which do not take a stain very well to begin with. Oak is pretty easy to ID. Look at the end grain cuts and you can see the growth rings going in one direction and tiny Medullary lines going in the other direction dissecting the growth rings.

If your tip ups are Ash or Poplar the best finish would probably be either a poly or epoxy type but would need to be done correctly. Disassemble the sticks and prep them with a Pre Conditioner from Minwax. I would string them all on a wire or string through the bolt holes and apply the finish either with a brush or spray. Allow them to dry and inspect to see if they need a second coat before assembling them. The Minwax pre conditioner will help the finish to adhere to the wood more uniformly as well as clean any oils or residue in the process. Some woods do take to being oiled if they can absorb the finish into the grain but you would need to test to be sure. Boiled Linseed and even Teakwood oils would be my choice in this case. If you can contact Heritage I bet they will say the wood is white ash and they might have some info regarding staining or sealing the wood. In the picture the light lines are the medullary rays dissecting the growth rings.