I left my WRC GP natural and it has held up well. Its my 3rd year
using the paddle. I did color it in a unique way though. We were in
Prince Edward Island kayaking and the paddle was laid down onto the
bright red mud the island is made of. When I picked it back up I
noticed it had been stained a gorgeous reddish brown color. I packed
the paddle in the wet mud overnight and 3 years later the color is
still holding.
I brought a 5gal bucket of that soil back to stain my other paddles.
Just an idea if you happen to be passing theu PEI with your natural
paddle...