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Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: myshootinstinks on July 19, 2017, 06:34:00 PM
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I'm refinishing an old Howatt recurve that I believe is a shedua riser. I know that finishes like Fullerplast or Thunderbird are normally used on tropical hardwoods due to the oily content. I don't have spray equipment and it's not worth sending to a pro to finish. In the past I've used fast drying water based polyurethane topped with wipe-on poly for a finish and it works okay but not great.
Anyone have a better method?
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I used shedua in a few bows and it didn't seem oily to me. It seemed a lot like walnut.
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min wax spar varnish
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Shed a finished like any domestic. Not oily or problematic. I've finished it with wipe on poly and spray can sparethane.
I have a bass guitar which is Shedua and it's finished with beeswax IIRC and it's beautiful but also probably not ideal for outdoors.
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I would use either Minwax wipe-on polyurethane (it's oil-based; I usually do 5 or 6 coats), or Varathane water-based spray spar polyurethane. I get both at Menard's. I know Home Depot has the Minwax wipe-on; I don't know if they carry the Varathane spray.
The Varathane is the quickest easiest way I've found to do a refinish. I've done a few longbows and a couple of older semi-recurves with it. I can put on 5 or 6 coats in an hour, and I'm done. Light coats work best. I then let the finish dry/cure for a few days before using the bow. I've only used the satin variety-- it also comes in semi-gloss and gloss.
If you're looking for a smooth glossy finish, I'd use the Minwax wipe-on. It's oil-based, so it will have a slightly amber tone, whereas the Varathane does not.
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I guess I assumed shedua would be somewhat oily in that I read where it is closely related to bubinga. If it is like walnut, that gives me a number of options.
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The only thing I don't like about it is the pores!
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I used Minwax spar urethane (spray can) on a Shedua riser and on a Bubinga riser with no problems. You could spray some on a small scrap piece Just to make sure, give it 24 hours and if its tacky then you will have to seal the wood with something like Bullseye dewaxed shellac, then spray with minwax spar urethane
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I've tried lots of finished. But this year I tried VHT wheel paint, Clear either matte or gloss, either one is great, sets up on anything, it's tough too and high temp. I get it at Auto zone. It's all I use now. (until I find something better)