Does CR need sealing?

The top players in China not only seal, but varnish the Offensive CR. The one I had was done to these oversealing specs and it was lovely. The Stigas in general are a little rough and not finished well like the Butterfly, especially the edges. I would sand that smooth and seal no matter what. The CR does have that special ultraviolet (or whatever) coating, but still . . . . I say SEAL and NOT with hairspray. Use Varathane.

In past I had Carbo 7.6 wrb. This wood have same outer plys as Offensive CR. I not seal him and I destroy him when it was reglue. I was young and I dont know that I must seal all Stiga blades, because they have softly outer plys.

Besides threatening rude members and creating the ping pong vs. girlfriend posts, here's my biggest contribution to this site:

VARATHANE DIAMOND INTERIOR WOOD FINISH-SATIN (not gloss)-#2002-61.

*Prepare blade first. If you have to lightly sand, do it carefully with a fine gauge sponge sanding block. Do not round off blade edges. Use rubbing alcohol to clean. Let dry (a few minutes). Now you're ready . . .

1. Stir Can well without shaking (causes air bubbles).
2. Dip the corner (twisted or folded up a little) of clean, dry cotton cloth* and quickly rub the sealer into the blade and with a technique that covers evenly. I go in circles starting at the center of the face of the blade and work my way to the outter edges, then wipe along the side edge (perimeter) of the blade where the edge tape will go, then quickly return to the face of the blade to wipe off any spill over from the edge sealing with some light vertical strokes from handle out over top of blade. You might want to stroke a nice even level line across the top of the handle where the bottom edge of the rubber will go; however, I think it looks better and strenthens the blade to seal the wings/shoulder. Some prefer to use a sponge or china bristle brush when applying, but that leaves a heavy coat and/or streaks of sealant. THAT IS NO GOOD. The trick is to rub the sealant INTO the blade, then gently wipe off the excess with the cloth. Some use a good quality paper towel. Basically, use whatever is clean and doesn't leave link or fuzz stuck in the wet sealant.
3. Wait two hours, then polish with a clean dry cloth.
4. Repeat.
5. Repeat a third or forth time ONLY if the blade is like bare porous wood (I have over sealed and made a mess. My blade looked like an over protected night table . . . hard as a rock). Luckily, I managed to fix this by sanding with a fine gauge wet sanding sponge and it took hours to repair my disaster. But only do this if you mess up, which you shouldn't.
6. Wait 24-hours.
7. Affix your rubbers! I use glue sheets and NEVER get splinters when removing!!!!!!

*Use a cotton cloth or an expensive paper towel like Bounty that will not leave lint of fall apart and get stuck to your wet sealer. I use an old pair of 100% cotton boxer shorts. :-).

I don't remember who turned me on to this Sealer, but it was on this site. My hats off to him/her. I added the boxer shorts.

could anyone make a video? sometimes its hard to understand when just reading. would making a video about sealing blades be too much to ask?

Hi Aeoliah,,,
     Some blades will raise the grain after one coat of sealer. Light sanding with fine sandpaper, (#300 or #400) will take care of it. If one more is applied, it usually makes it very smooth. It varies with the wood type.
     Tommy and I seal pretty heavy. The glue sticks very well and even glue sheets come off with no problem. Glue sheets stay on the rubber and then you can just apply it to the next blade without more glue.
     Seal the edge while you are at it. It acts like edge tape and helps keep the top ply from coming up if you hit the table.
    

Hey Tommy,,,
     I look at as buying unfinished furnature,,, we are just finishing the job.