# Finishing wood arrows



## Cazador (Oct 22, 2002)

I've recently gotten back into traditional archery and plan to make my own wood arrows. I've noticed that a lot of suppliers sell stains and finishes that claim to be 'compatible with fletching glues'. I was wondering if I need a special finish for my wood shafting or if any wood finish will do, because it would easier for me to go to the hardware store rather than ordering special finishes from a supplier.

Cazador.


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## Tafkas (May 22, 2002)

I use Tung Oil, (McLosky's) with absolutely no problems. Another good finish, although not as durable is shellac. Both are available in any paint store. With the Tung oil remember that several light coats give much better service than one heavy coat. One heavy coat stays tacky for a long time.


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## bill-nel (Oct 23, 2002)

I use gasket lacquer and automotive lacquer for all my arrows. Both Duco cement and Fletchtite both seem to hold just fine.

I use alcohol (water) based stains and let them dry thoroughly before dipping them.

I have never tried to apply fletching to a shaft that had only been stained, so cannot comment on that variation.

Bill


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## Cazador (Oct 22, 2002)

*fletching finished wood shafts*

Thanks Y'all, I don't imagine I'll have any trouble getting fletchtite glue to stick to any finish, but I wanted to be sure before I went and finished a whole batch of shafts. I plan to stain AND finish before I fletch, and I wanted to be sure that the fletchtite glue would stick to any finish, and not just certain finishes. Thanks again  

Cazador


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## johnman (Nov 22, 2002)

Here is what you do:
Get a pvc tube 2 inches in diameter and 36 inches long. Fill it with finish - Varathane is the best finish that I have found, it goes on all my custom bambo rods that I make. Fill the tube with finish and you attatch the string to one end of the arrow, then submerge the arrow in the pvc tube filled with finish and withrawl the arrow to get a mirror finish- and I mean mirror! You then polish it with rottenstone. Cabelas sells a slow rod wrapping engine cheap that you can use to automate the process. If you do not want to mess with an engine, then just tie the string to the arrow and very slowely withdrawl it from the finish tube. 
If you use varathane, you can thin it just a hair with mineral spirits to get thinner coats. If you want colored arrows, get a second tube for the color coat and do that first the same way. Once dry use the clear coat of varathane over it all and your paint will not wear off. varathane is so good that I can leave one of my bamboo rods it the hot care in Utah in the middle of summer and no damage to the rod or finish. It dries to the touch very fast as well so no dust will mess up your nicely dipped arrows. Much more durable than tung oil- I know this because I use tung oil as a sealent coat on my glued up blanks after I first sand them. tung oil requires many coats to get good finish and dries to final hardness very slowely ( it may not be tacky but it is not even close to full finish strenght for up to two months depending on humidity)- tung oil only rods should age a month before you use them here in utah , while varathane rods are ready in a week. I hope this helps. I only use the fly rods as a good comparison to arrows as both must flex, repel moisture and take abuse.


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