# Wood Arrows: Is finish optional?



## Thin Man (Feb 18, 2012)

Hello. 

Any wood requiring durable longevity requires a treatment to seal the wood and prevent moisture issues and warping, especially for thin, bendy sticks in an outdoor environment. 

You don't need to dip your arrows and deal with that process. 

I use the Minwax Wipe-on Polyurethane (oil-based) to seal my shafts. Fold a small square of paper towel cloth, hold it against the can's snout and tip the can to get it wet. I hold the arrow by one of the tapers, "round" the wet paper towel, and pull it across the length of the shaft a couple of times to get a very thin, non-dripping coat. Prop each shaft on the floor with the top taper leaning against a wall (rig your own system here). You'll hump the learning curve by the second or third shaft.

A coat takes about 12 hours to dry before I recoat (ignore the can's instructions on dry time - way longer than suggested often yields the best results). I gently use 0000 steel wool between each coat to smooth the shaft and knock off any dust nibs. I hit a morning/night cycle and I apply about eight coats until the finish looks like deep glass over the wood. Yes, it takes four days, but the result is excellent, and this poly doesn't stink in the house. Two or three coats don't look finished to my eye, which is why I go for eight to get a furniture look. This is thin stuff. 

Rarely a single drip on the floor with this process, and cleanup consists of tossing the paper towel into the trash and closing the lid on the can. A dozen shafts take about a dozen minutes to coat for each session.

There are other finishes applied in a similar manner that folks like, but I have found the Minwax to be perfectly suited to my aesthetic. I'll let others address their fave methods.

Duco cement works perfectly with this finish for the feathers and nocks.

(By the way, before I apply the finish, I smooth the raw shafts with 600 grit sandpaper. You should also hand-straighten any crooked shafts at this point, as well as at any time during the finishing process.)

Hope this helps.


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## 5 Arrow (Nov 20, 2015)

What Thin Man said. Thompson Water Seal also works but a good quality Polyurethane is probably more popular. I use a good quality brush and brush the coating on. That requires a brush cleaner, I use Denatured alcohol. The wipe on idea is probably better that my brush method. Your stain or die goes on before the clear coating and 0000 steel wool is before/after staining/die to remove and contamination and highlight the grain. All this stuff is best done outdoors or in the garage. I enjoy the smells of finishing wood arrows but others, ah not so much. Do yourself a favor and make a stall for each arrow with finishing nails. Just propping them against a table top results in all sorts of problems. There is only one secret to finishing wood and that is to be patient.
We burn trash so any contaminated petrol based solvents find use as an accelerant.


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## danshao (Feb 17, 2014)

Thanks Thinman and 5 arrow for the suggestions! I'll go with the minwax Polyurethane and see how it goes


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## KodiakHunter56 (Dec 31, 2014)

Not to high jack but at what point, before or after does the cresting going on if your going to do that. Also when feathers come off or it's time for a reflects do you have to refinish them along with redoing the cresting? I have always wondered how that worked!


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## Thin Man (Feb 18, 2012)

K, 

I crest after I've applied the first two coats of finish. Probably nothing wrong with cresting on the bare wood, but I worry about paint sneaking down the grain ... which may be a needless worry, possibly depending upon the nature of the cresting paint. If I boo-boo while cresting, I can immediately wipe the paint off of the slightly slick finish and start again.

When applying the first layer of finish over the crest, I am very gentle so as not to corrupt the paint. The 0000 wool rub on that particular coat is likewise very delicate. After that I apply finish and rub the wool in the regular fashion, for the paint seems protected.

I use water-based acrylic paint for cresting. The oil-based poly will not act as a solvent with this paint when applied. I've tried the Testor's enamel, but the oil-poly erased it right off. A spray finish might not do this, but the wipe-on surely will. 

You can search through the various archery forum archives to find folks discussing the types of paint and finish combos that they have found satisfactory. Once you catch your own happy combo, you're good to go forever. 

If I can get a damaged feather off cleanly and refletch neatly, I don't touch up the finish. If the finish is a bit shredded in that area, some touch up with the finish may be in order. If I've also ruined any cresting within the feather area, well, I'm shooting that arrow with a bit of ugly on it. The eye tends to focus on the main cresting down the shaft below the feather area, so a bit of ugly within the feathers due to a repair may not be obvious to the casual glance. (I'll probably break the arrow soon enough, anyway, so I don't feel compelled to cosmetically perfect any repair on a frequently shot arrow.)


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## KodiakHunter56 (Dec 31, 2014)

Thanks for the info! That helped.


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## berzerk64 (Nov 27, 2013)

I only crest enough to ID my arrows during a shoot, couple stripes painted on demarcated by painters tape and put on with krylon. I wipe or spray on a couple layers of satin poly to give it a measure of seal, and go. I've been able to refletch several times with 3-4 layers. Pop off any remaining feather base and maybe a little light sanding, and I may give it a quick spray with the poly again, depending. My arrows aren't purty, by any means, but not my concern. I just want to be able to differentiate them, if necessary. I am giving thought to using a wax or grease coating to some arrows I am building for use with an old sinew backed bow to keep with the idea of no modern materials. I have no idea how that will go, but the fun is in finding out. I'd not leave them unsealed, though, whatever sealant is used.


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