What do you finish your bows with?
Tru-oil or spray helmsman spar urethane.
Tru-oil or tung-oil.
Tru-oil ? Even a glas laminated bow ?
(i am a fan for oil finish, but haven´t tested it yet for a glas bow)
I have used tru-oil spray, works great.
Ive alway used Fuller Plast.Its a hard flexible finish.Its a catalyzed varnish.Its been used by bowyer for years.They have a add in TBH.I have always had good resolts with it.I have herd good things about Thunderbird too.I know alot of guys that are doing ok with the wipe-on finishes.
Osage gets 3 coats of Tru Oil to seal the pores. Then 3 of spar urethane. White wood bows get 3 of spar urethane. Jawge
I just finished a glass bow with Tru Oil, worked great. spray poly is another easy application and it works good. If you have a sprayer and compressor go with a catalyzed finish.
Krylon Crystal, fast drying hard finish. Recoat anytime, crystal clear. For cheap at wally world. I also use wipe on polly, also a great finish.
James................................
I use Tru-Oil on all of my bows. If they are for hunting I'll add a quick spray of satin poly to kill the shine.
I used Tung oil on the riser, will it work on the glass limbs too?
Is the Tru Oil a wipe on?
Yes, I use my finger to wipe it on. It comes in a small brown p[l;astic bottle. Buy the small one because if you aren't using it a lot it will skim over in the bottle. One small bottle should do 5 or 6 bows with 5 or 6 coats of Tru-Oil.
Use 0000 steelwool between each cured coat to give you a high gloss finish. If you want to dull the shine a quick spray of satin poly will do that for you.
Thanks for the tip.
Cammoman,
I used boiled linseed oil on a FG bow I am finishing up. The wood takes it very well but it turns very shinny on the FG. I steel wooled it down and and covering it now with Helmsman Spar Urethaine Satin.
That's what I'm afraid of with the Tung oil on the glass, plus Im not sure it will soak it up. Im sure the edges will do fine and I like the way it looks on the riser.
Do I need to sand the glass?
I learned this from Ferrett several years back:
Store your Tru and Tung Oil with lid down, when stored this manner the film Pat mentioned forms on the bottom (now the up side) of the container, leaving the good oil free to pour out.
Good idea! I guess then I will always have a full can when I open it too! hahaha
I do that also. Another thing I do is add just a little Tru-oil to a small container and seal the Tru-Oil bottle and use what was poured out...and don't add any excess back to the bottle.
QuoteOriginally posted by Pat B:
I do that also. Another thing I do is add just a little Tru-oil to a small container and seal the Tru-Oil bottle and use what was poured out...and don't add any excess back to the bottle.
I use the lids off of 2 litre bottles for putting tru-oil in when applying. There is very little waste.
I would suggest Tru Oil for your riser and spray poly for your limbs. Tru Oil will make that riser beautiful...er, the grain will "pop" like crazy. Spray poly is quick and easy for the limbs. I hang them from fishing line and spray a minimum of 4 coats gloss and 2 coats satin to dull the shine. The gloss is harder and a good base coat for the limbs. Rubbing tru oil on glass may be a trick.
Rub on ploy or "Massey" finish (1 part Acetone 1 part 2 ton epoxy)
Mine has tung oil,but it is gonna have snakeskin before next season.
Paraffin wax is all I use...Found a huge candle in the basement.
Water beads off...works for me. I'm cheap
Krylon Crystal, I really like this stuff, it comes in gloss, satin, and flat. very durable.
Camoman asked " do I need to sand the glass?" Yes, The shiney side of the glass needs to be sanded..I have been using 220 and 320 to sand the shiney release agent off of the glass, some guys use only the 220 and some will sand down to 400 or 600 grit...you need to sand the shiney off,it will look like crap...when you apply the finish the glass will look clear again..
QuoteOriginally posted by Robertfishes:
Camoman asked " do I need to sand the glass?" Yes, The shiney side of the glass needs to be sanded..I have been using 220 and 320 to sand the shiney release agent off of the glass, some guys use only the 220 and some will sand down to 400 or 600 grit...you need to sand the shiney off,it will look like crap...when you apply the finish the glass will look clear again..
Does this work with tru oil too ?
I have only used Minwax Spar Urethane Satin in the spray can. Before I built my first bow I read and re read almost every post about bow building, I did this for at least 2 months..I bought the Binghams CD, press kit and blue prints.. From what I have read on previous posts (using the search function) finish will not stick to the glass if you leave the shiney stuff on the glass, its a release agent from when the glass was laid up.. Without Binghams,KennyM and the helpfull guys on this site and a couple of other sites I have built some nice shooting bows. Lots of great bow building info can be found using ..Search...
made a mixture of beeswax and walnut oil. warm and hand rub.
Sadiejane, do you make this mixture yourself?
Since I don't have a spray rig, that rules out the real good stuff like fullerplast and thunderbird. So, I usually go over the wood parts, including the limb edges, with a couple of coats of tru-oil, because it will soak in. If the pores in the riser,etc. need more filling I apply more coats of tru- oil, sanding in between coats. Then, if the temp. is high enough, it's not too windy, and them little white fuzzy bugs aren't flying all over the place, I hang it outside and spray it with four coats of helmsman spar urethane satin, waiting about thirty to forty minutes between coats. I use four coats because the can recomends three for outside use. I let it hang outside for a few hours, then hang it in the back room for a minimum of three days, because dry is one thing, but cured is another. If I like what I see after three days, I'm good to go. If not, I sand it back down a bit, and spray it again. lol
QuoteOriginally posted by b.glass:
Sadiejane, do you make this mixture yourself?
yeah i buy walnut oil at the grocery and put it in a double boiler, letting it boil just a bit, then add beeswax. tho the recommended is 2 parts beeswax to 1 part walnut oil, i add a bit more walnut oil than that. use it while its warm. rub for as long as i can stay at it. do numerous coats over a few days. it sets back up when cooled. i pour it into an old altoids or similar container. after its cooled instead of heating the mixture again i rub it on with an old tshirt and warm the wood with a blow dryer and rub and rub and rub. old swedish woodworking formula.
Tim, At the present time, I'am building my 3rd and 4th bows. That being the case, I found through others on these forums that "Deft" is a very good product to use when only building a few bows for family and friends. It is available in 12.25 OZ spray cans in clear gloss, which I use, and also clear satin. The price is reasonable, and it can be obtainded from Lowe's locally. Sam Harper at (www.geocities.com/salampsio/index) swears by it, and he is one who makes many fine bows. By the way, thanks for your military service to the country. A veteran John
"Deft" Clear wood finish in the spray can. Ive used gloss, and the satin variety, and they both work very well.
Available from "Lowes" at a moderate price.
John