Ok I'm in the middle of refinishing one of my longbows and I have to admit using tru-oil and it's coming out great. Made me think, does anyone use it on arrow shafts ?
Yes, 3D and stumps beats them up. Great for hunting though.
I have some Laminated birch a friend gave me that he used Tru-oil on. Seems to work fine, maybe not as smooth as lacquer.
Haven't tried tru-oil but outta work fine with repeated wipes. Personaly I use high gloss tung oil on tight grain cedar, which looks great....just takes several nights to finish'em....Phil
Tru-Oil works super on wood shafts. When I was making woods that is all that I used. The more coats you apply the prettier they get. I would apply 3 coats then steel wool them down,then start all over again until I got the look I wanted.
Once it dries it is a hard durable surface.
Good Shooting,
Craig
What Monkeyball said... it is also seemingly more flexable then lacquer.. Ya can thin it.
I used LinSpeed thinned.....
So would you guys dip them,hang them,steel wool them when dry and then repeat 3 times?
Hand rub it in using a soft cotton cloth saturated with the oil (I use surgical gloves when applying tung). Do the steps monkeyball suggested....Phil
Harold,
Put a pair of latex gloves on,cut up some small squares of a thin cloth. Hold the cloth over the bottle opening and do a quick upside down and back turn. Now wipe your shaft top to bottom,sit it in a place where you can let it dry(minimum time of 2 hrs).That is one coat. Repeat this 3 times(drying between coats) and see what you think. I do not steel them until I have at least three coats on.
Don't forget,use Duco to glue your fletch on with.
Craig
Have used Tru-oil for shafts off and on for quite some time now and it works very well.
Follow Craigs directions and you can not go wrong.
There is another product that was made for gun stock finishing that works extremely well for wood shafts.
Permalyn made by Laurel Mountain Forge, there is a sealer and a finishing product.
Same instructions as above.
This stuff is like an Armour coating, tough as nails.
Downside is it a bit pricey.
Use Gum Turpentine to clean up, and turn the bottle upside down with cap tight when not in use. This will keep it from drying on the top.
I've used Tru Oil on gunstocks, bows, and arrow shafts and it's worked very well on all. It's a beautiful finish for any wood surface in my opinion. It's all I will ever use for my gunstocks, but for my woodies I went for quick and easy with a rattle can of satin polyurethane cause I grew tired of the wiping just for some arrow shafts. I figured I'd save the Tru oil for more important projects and the spray on satin poly is plenty durable and much quicker, dries fast and easy to apply.
I haven't used Tru-oil, but I have used a gun finishing product called Lin"speed" oil. I used it to finish some ash arrows I made last year and it did a superb job. Hard smooth finish that accepts fletching tape very well. You can pick it up on line at Midway USA or Brownells.
I used linseed oil on a gunstock that I made as a teenager.
Tru-oil is my preferred finish on wood arrows. As others have stated here, I wipe it on with a small square of polyester cloth. I prefer a minimum of 4 coats and steel wool it lightly after about the second coat.
If you damage an arrow at some point then it's easy to apply more finish to the damaged area.
Yup! Tru-oil is quick and easy. The trick to making it come out looking really well is to keep the coats thin, and lightly steel wool in betwween coats.
Man, you guys have a lot more patience than I do! One of the reasons I use mostly carbons these days is because it takes so long to make cedar arrows, and that using poly. I've done more gunstocks with Truoil than I can count (used to own a gunshop), but it takes a long time. I use really thin coats and dry between, usually a minimum of 6-8 coats on a gun stock. I can't imagine doing that on an arrow and then taking it stumping!
I still do make/use cedars sometimes just because I love the way they shoot, but I'm in and out of the shop so fast with carbons, they are hard to resist.
One nice thing about the Tru-oil is you can touch up a spot on a shaft or near the point (from 3-D targets). I wish Wally World still had it. Like what has been said before, apply a coat, let it dry, steel wool lightly, apply another coat, and so-on until you get the finish you want. 3 coats would be minimum. IMO. Fletch with Duco. I wish Wally World still carried that too! Last batch of woodies I made I used Watco Danish Oil. That actually penetrates INTO the wood. I think the Tru-oil makes a better looking arrow.
How does glue stick to tru oil, I have been using latex wiped on and wipe off for stain and water soluble poly because it dries fast. Tried tongue oil with poly dipped to the crest, the tongue oil takes too long to dry for my patience.
I dont know much about finshes, is this the stuff.
Burchwood,Casey Tru-Oil gun stock finsh?
I have some woods i want to make up.
ttt
Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil is what I use on all my ash arrows, it penetrates into the wood for good moisture protection and makes a beautiful finish. Thin coats, light steel wool between coats. Usually 4 coats satisfy me but I'm not looking for that furniture quality finish. Duco works fine for fletching and nocks.
I have used it and it worked well.
Using either True-Oil or Lin-Speed the drying trick is do it in a dry environment. I also thin it with a bit of terp. Just a bit and then build coats, steel wool between coats after the second.
This a heck of a finish but it is time consuming and I only use it on the most fancy of arrows.
tru-oil works great on wood shafts, but so does min-wax wipe-on polyu.
Dipping Tru Oil is a great way to go , I have found it best to thin with Naptha so that it runs off well . Like Huntschool mentioned make sure you steel wool or sand between coats, but then you want to do that no mater the finish brand.
Like Rob said however there are several good Poly finishes that work as well also with less fuss.
Can you crest prior to using Tru Oil, if so, with what paint?
anyone - or else I have to buy 70 bucks worth of garket lacquer cause I'm out
isn't tru oil a little costly to use on shafts ?.....its 7 bucks for a small bottle...I use oil based varathane... if a person could get it for cheap I would try it. Use it (True oil) on my selfbows and works great.
I heard tung oil was good as well