I have an old wheelbarrow with wooden handles. It works great, but I keep getting splinters from the handles. Sanding the handles hasn't solved the problem. The surface is too rough. I thought about treating it with something used to resurface a deck. Before I do something like that, I thought I'd check with the experts around here.
How should I treat the handles to prevent splinters?
N.B. I think the handles are ash, but they are so old that it's hard to tell.
I used cloth adhesive tape. It worked well and probably has a better grip and feel than duct tape. You could also get some sports tape, like that used on hockey stick handles or baseball bats.
It sounds like you keep your wheelbarrow outside, as I do. I recently sanded my wheelbarrow handles and treated them with "spar urethane" to solve the same persistent splinter problem you've described, and I expect it will prevent further oxidation and degradation of the wood during continued outdoor storage. "Spar urethane" or "spar varnish" is a polyurethane or varnish that includes a UV blocker. It should protect both from sun and rain. I used the same stuff for the rigging and spars of a home-made wooden sailboat that lives outside but under a cover and in that application I have needed to reapply after 5 years or so. The wheelbarrow is not under a cover and may need more frequent touch ups.
As I say in the Comment above, it is possible that just sanding deeper would resolve the problem with splinters1. It depends on the level of weathering whether this is viable; you don't want to sand too deeply and change the profile of the handles too much and/or weaken them, plus there's no non-destructive way of knowing in advance if it will work.
So the other option that first occurred to me was to consolidate the wood that's there. This can be done in a number of ways but essentially, or literally, you will be glueing the splinters in place.
Coat them in something
Cover the ends with rubbery grips
I'm familiar with these from metal wheelbarrows so they immediately came to mind as a possible solution. I didn't know if they were available to buy separately but I tried a search and they are, not really surprisingly. No idea if any are made that will fit your handles but worth investigating I thought.
Tape 'em
Obviously you could just use duct tape or something similar here, although the grip wouldn't be great many a tool handle has been fixed or bulked out with duct tape! There are grip tapes though which would probably do everything needed here, prevent splinters forming and improve on the current grip so win-win.
Wrap in string, cord
If you don't use a synthetic you can protect the natural fibre if necessary by overcoating in varnish or epoxy.
And last but not least....
Do nothing, just wear thick gloves
:-)
1 Underneath the surface of weathered wood there is very frequently sound wood, and sometimes surprisingly close to the surface (although I expect that's not the case here).
2 A true marine spar varnish is probably overkill, and also an expensive purchase for just the one utilitarian item. Plus you probably won't find any for sale at the usual places you might be looking to purchase anyway.
If the wood itself is reasonably sound, just rough, and the damage is deep enough that it will take considerable sanding to eliminate the gouges, I'd consider using a wood filler or epoxy to fill in the depths. Doing so will also help lock in the little bits that are sticking out trying to jab you every time you use it.
It's been quite a while since I've used wood filler, but the ones I remember were a fairly thick, putty like substance that would stick in place once pushed into the gaps. Trying this with epoxy would require a fairly thick epoxy mixture designed for filling so that it doesn't just run down the handles and/or drip to the bottom.
Once the surface has been filled to levelish all the way around, sand it smooth, then coat with one of the materials described in other answers to protect both the filler (particularly wood filler, not so much epoxy) and the remaining wood.
