St. Patrick's Day is always inspiring and today was no different. A great friend is going to be shooting some carbons this spring and wanted to get them "spruced up" just right.
These carbons went from this:
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1363563062.jpg) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1363563062.jpg)
To this!
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1363563193.jpg) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1363563193.jpg)
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1363563221.jpg) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1363563221.jpg)
Hoping their new owner likes them!!
That is amazing. You do great work
Look great! PLEASE share your swerilly method
John, she will look good shooting those arrows. You are a true craftsman!
Thanks my friend :archer2:
Wowzers! How the heck do you do that?
Those look awesome! Can't wait to see the finished product!
Little bit of Testors paint and a little bit of water is all I use.
Fred and Bob liked them too. :goldtooth:
Yes Sir that is Wild,gonna have to try that. :clapper:
I hate to admit this...but I do my daughters finger nails in swirl dip like that in water. :dunno:
I wonder if this process is similar??
Looks great! I like marble dipped caps the best.
Guru, my girlfriend just informed me that it is very similar. The paint peels off the fingertips but stays on the nails... :dunno:
Curt, you are truly a dedicated dad!
QuoteOriginally posted by Guru:
I hate to admit this...but I do my daughters finger nails in swirl dip like that in water. :dunno:
I wonder if this process is similar??
You are correct Sir! (cue my best Ed McMahon voice)
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1363653645.jpg) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1363653645.jpg)
I'm sure there are other ways folks do it but all I use is Testors paint dripped into the top of a container filled with water. Swirl it around and dip the arrow in.
I'll admit to getting some really fancy finger and nail colors when doing this!!
wow thats great thanks for the pic
That's neat. Thanks for sharing. God bless.
Very cool! I gotta try this.
Very nice John.
:cool:
Cool looking!
John, you're just an old hippie.
QuoteOriginally posted by reddogge:
John, you're just an old hippie.
From one Maryland man to another......I resemble that remark!
I'd encourage anyone to give this a try as it's not too terribly hard. Good Luck!
John,
I was wondering about your process. A few years back, I stopped at a museum in the Smokey Mountains and they showed a similar product. Their process was to float the paint on water and roll your medium across it. Your way seems much easier.
Outstanding :clapper:
Trap
Very nice
Been getting PM's with questions......don't give up guys! It really is easy just keep after it.
Few answers for all:
1. In my experience I've never had to add any thinner to the paint. Few drops right out of the bottle. Once the drops are there, all floating on top, gently site them up.
2. Once the paint is stirred I put the shaft straight down through the paint into the water. I usually twist the arrow around from side to side just to maximize the swirling affect.
Hope this helps but if not please letme know. Happy to help.
Good Luck!
I can't wait to get off work now to try this. Thank you John your arrows look amazing.
How about a video, or a crest-along?
Far out, cool. Is it Testors enamel you have been using? Bue--.
Guys, Here is a build along on how to marble crown dip your arrows. Really is easy to do and looks pretty cool.
I will make every effort to show and explain how I do the marble dipping but I am sure there are other ways and little twists....please share them.
To start with I use an arrow that has been stained and crown dipped twice in Bohning white. As shown before using a carbon arrow that was spray painted white was used in the earlier set.
Here is the subject:
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263080479.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263080479.JPG)
You need some sort of container to hold the water and ultimately the paint. I use an empty iced tea bottle with only the top portion cut off.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263080763.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263080763.JPG)
Mine is about 9 inches tall. You can use any size you like but remember the depth of the container will be the max you can marble dip your arrows. This works pretty well for me but at times one a little deeper would be handy.
Fill it up with clean water but not to the very top. Leave a little room.
Quick pic of how much room I leave.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263081027.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263081027.JPG)
Next I put the whole thing into a tupperware container which provides a little more stability and some protection if any splashing would occur.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263081130.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263081130.JPG)
Next thing we need is the paint we will be using for our marble dip. I use Testors enamel model paint. I get mine at the local hobby store. Easy to use and most importantly just the right consistency.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263081235.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263081235.JPG)
I don't know if other type of paints would work as I haven't tried them. If you do please let me know.
Now we need something to dip the Testors out of the bottle just a drop at a time. I use q-tips with one end cut off. Seem to work pretty well and they are cheap generic ones.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263081409.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263081409.JPG)
Now for something to "stir" the paint with once we drip a few drops in the water. I found these long wooden sticks at the grocery store. Good length for this process and they work great.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263081624.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263081624.JPG)
Another instance where you could probbably use just about anything. I find that these work great so I haven't tried anything else. Keep in mind that we will need to wipe these down between arrows and at the end I just throw them away.
Now the fun part!
This is where you can let your creativity flow. Pick the colors you want to use on your particular arrow. I try to think about what colors I like in my fletching and what purpose the arrow will fill.
A hunting arrow will be a little brighter. Target arrows....anything goes!
This one will start with blue. I am going to dip my q-tip in the paint and drop about 2 or 3 drops of blue in the water. Don't touch your q-tip to the water. Get the paint on the end and shake it until you have the amount of paint you want.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263081795.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263081795.JPG)
Here is what it looks like in the water.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263082060.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263082060.JPG)
Now we add two drops of orange and one drop of red.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263082145.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263082145.JPG)
This is where some experience helps. Some Testors colors seem to be more "powerful" than others and only need a very small amount to show up alot on the arrow.
Testors red is very strong indeed. Blue and orange less strong and with yellow you can put quite a bit in. My best advice is to experiment. Try different amounts and see how they turn out.
Important step here: take your stick and very GENTLY stir the paint to mix it. The paint should stay on the very top only of the water.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263082410.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263082410.JPG)
And after stirring it up:
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263082532.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263082532.JPG)
It is imperative that you don't stir the paint and water to vigirously. You don't want any "air bubbles" floating on the top as these will show up on the final product.
Mix them together nice and slow and in an irregular fashion. This gives you a nice mixed up paint to dip the arrow in. Think about how you want the arrow to look before you dip.
Here it goes!
As I dip the arrow in I turn the it around and back in forth as it goes in the solution. This gives you a nice final product that is all mixed up.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263082738.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263082738.JPG)
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263082848.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263082848.JPG)
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263082912.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263082912.JPG)
Look at how much less paint is on the top of the water in the last picture.
Now pull the arrow straight out.......
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263083025.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263083025.JPG)
And there it is!
At this step there will be some water sitting on top of the paint. Just take your arrow by the point end and give it a few good shakes.
Trust me! The paint won't go anywhere as just the water will go flying. Now, I would not do this in the dining room but in the basement you won't hurt anything.
Another pic of the completed marble crown dipped arrow.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263083274.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263083274.JPG)
I normally let these air dry for several days. Once dry I start my cresting, then sealing, and finally fletch them up.
Now on to the next arrow!
First we have to clean up the water so we can do the next one. This is what it looks like after the arrow comes out.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263083430.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263083430.JPG)
Easy to clean up believe it or not. Just take your stick and gently stir it around in the water. The paint is floating just on the top and it will stick to the stir stick.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263083560.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263083560.JPG)
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263083655.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263083655.JPG)
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263083722.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263083722.JPG)
I use some handy paper towels to "wipe" this stick off to remove the excess paint sticking to it.
Now we're ready for the next one. I use the same water for a whole batch of arrows. Unless the water get some "stuff" floating in it I will use if for quite a few. If it looks like pieces of stuff are floating in the water....change it. That stuff will stick to the arrow and won't allow the paint to.
Just a couple of others to show you how much paint it takes for my set up to make an arrow that looks like this.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263084018.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263084018.JPG)
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263084071.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263084071.JPG)
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263084164.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263084164.JPG)
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263084229.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263084229.JPG)
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263084281.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263084281.JPG)
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1263084363.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1263084363.JPG)
That really is all there is to it. No secret step that wasn't shown.....just jump in and try a few.
Might want to try a few "extra" shafts first just to get the hang of it before moving on to the top shelf ones!
With out a doubt there are other ways to do this and lots of little things you can change to suit your own tastes. View this as a potential starting point but experiment....but please share your results.
Good Luck!
:thumbsup: very well done!!
Pretty cool stuff indeed, I have used the bohning cesting paint to do the same thing, and have gotten the same results. I haven't tried mixing paints before but it looks like i'm going to have to try it.
That's cool John...same process as my daughters fingernails :dunno: :D
very impressive. thank you for sharing this with us.
Same way I do it, except I use thinned auto paint. Any oil-based paint will float on water. :thumbsup: I'll have to try out the Testor's I have. Great how-to! I'd like to see those all fletched.
What glue do you recommend that adheres well without dissolvimg paint??
Great pictorial!!
Mike
I use Bohning fletch tape with CA glue with no worries. Usually apply 2 coats of water based sealer before fetching.
Very well done. This belongs in the "how to" or "build along" section permanently.
Thanks for sharing.
Ron
I have to say, this is real cool!! I might have to try that one day!!
Thank you for taking the time to share this with us!!
So there it is finally. That's awesome and thanks so much for taking the time to post the build along. I've GOT to try this now.
John, Jim Reebuck would be proud of you!
Thanks for sharing your creativity.I'll have to try it now! :thumbsup:
That is very cool!
Great tutorial. Thanks :clapper:
QuoteOriginally posted by East Coast archer:
John, Jim Reebuck would be proud of you!
X2!
Jim is a super guy and has gone out of his way to help me with my arrow making skills. He's always wiling to offer tips and answer questions.
Do you plug the end of the carbon arrow? Do you have to paint the shaft first? I know the white probably helps get the tru paint color but just wonder if it is a must.
Thanks,
Cool idea!
VERY COOL!!! :thumbsup: :archer: arrow makers!
Thanks for the great step buy step.
QuoteOriginally posted by BillW:
Do you plug the end of the carbon arrow? Do you have to paint the shaft first? I know the white probably helps get the tru paint color but just wonder if it is a must.
Thanks,
Cool idea!
Both are great questions:
1. I've done carbons both with the nock in and the nock out with no ill effects either way. If you use the nock in your nock will have the same painted effect. Moving forward I'm going to stick with the nock out method.
2. White paint is a great "blank canvas" to work with and makes all colors show up really well. Over the years I've tried other colors for the base over one coat of white and while some colors look really cool that way you're kind of limited. Yellow does produce some cool looking end results though. I've also tried no base paint as well and the results didn't really do it for me at least.
Try all different things and find what works best, and looks best, for you.
Great stuff! Thanks jcar.
Great job John. I just bought some pink kids arrows for the St Judes auction and now I know how I will crest them!
Benjy
What kind of paint are you using for the base coat on the carbon shafts?
John: thanks for the show.Your arrows look great.
White gloss spray paint from Lowes.....2 coats and ready to go.
awesome job thanks for the how to
I saw these arrows today at Shaw's Traditional Archery. Very nice indeed, John.
Tom
Here is the finished arrow that John marbled for Sue
(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn42/bearkeeper/3daae6e9-38e6-4257-9ecb-226a8b30e8b0_zps0864b53a.jpg)
^^ Very nice! I now have an excuse to buy some more arrow shafts!! :jumper:
Thank you for the how to. Very nice.
Impressive and easy! You cant beat that!
I know I'll be using these steps on a set of arrows in the near future.
Thank you.
QuoteOriginally posted by Mike Shaw:
Here is the finished arrow that John marbled for Sue
(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn42/bearkeeper/3daae6e9-38e6-4257-9ecb-226a8b30e8b0_zps0864b53a.jpg)
Very nice!!
I have a feeling they'll be put to good use.
Absolutely awesome....going to dress mine up as well!
John, she put them to good use alright...Dammm
(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn42/bearkeeper/shafted4_zps47c647e5.jpg) (http://s301.photobucket.com/user/bearkeeper/media/shafted4_zps47c647e5.jpg.html)
:clapper:
John,
Break out your marbling skills-looks like Mike may be ordering more arrows!!!!
Does your wife give lessons, Mike??
:notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: Great shot!!!!! but it sure is a waste of a really nice looking arrow!!!!! :biglaugh:
And aren't they harder to pull out of the butt? I hate it when I put one out of the foam center. Strain my back and my wrists trying to get the darned things out.
Very cool!!!!
Just tried this with yellow and black over a white cap! They look awesome with my yellow barred and natural barred feathers!
TTT for a fellow marble dipper!
Guess the image linky pics don't show up any longer....might help some.