Moving along on my Ebony stained arrows.
In the past I used to spray poly my arrows. After a couple post searches I decided to try a wipe on Spar urethane by Helsmans. Only thing is, is that I picked up the clear Satin.
I didn't want the reflecting of the Gloss, but wow do these things shine after their first coat! Think I may scuff them up with some steel wool at the last coat to dull them up.
Any suggestions on getting rid of this luster other than steel wool?
Steel wool works fine. Good idea to lightly steel wool them between coats as well. Makes for a smoother finish.
What typer of sealant does everyone use as far as the Gloss, Semi-Gloss, Satin, Matte, etc.?
I used Satin
I use gloss. It's a harder, stronger finish and as mentioned above can always be dulled with steel wool [I prefer Scotchbrite, no splinters] if desired.
I use Bohning fletch lac lacquer. Kind of inbetween gloss and satin. Light steel wool brings it to satin.
I use both minwax Polycrlic and gasket lacquer (sp) and steel wool...
I've been using Minwax quick dry poly,the gloss finish one.I give 3-5 coats and get a great gloss finish.I've used minwax polycrylic as well.Gives good gloss finish but target burns worse than the quick dry.Maybe I just didn't do enough coats but that was my exp.
I did 8 coats of polycrylic on my firs, Rich, and it still got some nasty target burns. Wound up sanding down the front end finish/burn and redipping. I'll stick to polyu from now on...
Just shooting them will take off most of the shine. I use all gloss finish on my arrows. It is a harder and tougher finish, but will dull up soon enuf. I've never had it get a critter's attention.
Spar makes an OK finish, but is also softer and is more likely to target burn. As an outdoor finish, spars are made to expand and contract with temp changes, thus just aren't as hard. For an outdoor hunting/stumping arrow, it works fine.
I use gloss helmsman spar urathane as the gloss is the strongest finish. After a few shots you won't notice.
O.K. Try this. I came upon this kind of by trial and error.
I was making some cherry wood plaque holders for work and I wanted a very smooth surface that wasn't too shiny. I let the final coat cure for a couple days and buffed it with a dense felt pad from a furniture slider of all things. It came out baby butt smooth and took the glossy glare off of the surface. You don't see any glare unless you get right up on it and get the angle just right with the light. The surface feels like glass to the touch, but looks soft.