I'm messing around with wood arrows again . This time I'm looking to do more than some plaint sealed woodies .
I have a shaft fully painted cobalt blue, and another full length yellow .
Another day and they will be fully sealed up. I'm wondering who shoots shafts fully painted? How do they hold up with repeated shots into targets? So they get ugly quick or hold up well ?
I'm painting some rough shafts , I don't have hardware for them as they are 5/16 shafts so real world testing is out for me.
When I was a kid (way back when) I remember shooting fully painted shafts. Best I recall, they didn't take long to start wearing off the paint, but that was before the type of finishes we have today were used........and, those arrows weren't being babied as to the type of targets they were being shot into either. Haven't shot any fully painted shafting of late. :dunno:
Here is a yellow shaft I'm working on . 3 coats of poly
(http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q618/brianlocal3/jd%20viper/D62725BF-1067-499D-A68D-F1D2BE6C8E7A_zpsxfwofvxu.jpg) (http://s1166.photobucket.com/user/brianlocal3/media/jd%20viper/D62725BF-1067-499D-A68D-F1D2BE6C8E7A_zpsxfwofvxu.jpg.html)
Here is a blue I'm trying
(http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q618/brianlocal3/jd%20viper/70E4BCED-E02F-4D15-A4B9-BAF6E297924B_zpsmwnige2l.jpg) (http://s1166.photobucket.com/user/brianlocal3/media/jd%20viper/70E4BCED-E02F-4D15-A4B9-BAF6E297924B_zpsmwnige2l.jpg.html)
Certainly are pretty,..... and look " ol' timey" :thumbsup:
I have made all white ones with Gasket lacquer and they didn't hold up well but yours look like they will do better.
The best luck I've had has been with gloss poly sealer that wasn't thinned more than 50%.
I have some fully painted shafts from Arrow Art and they seem to hold up pretty well. I also remember and have some of my old arrows from the early 50's that were fully painted. Haven't shot them in decades but the paint still looks acceptable.
I have some chocolate brown painted shafts with black and white fletching. They look pretty good and don't draw attention.
I think your poly is going to protect 'em pretty well Brian. The poly may show some target burn in foam, but it shouldn't effect the paint.
Just make sure to get the grain right .For safety sake mark the top of each arrow. You never know!. ;)
They do get worn as you shoot 'em, but that's justan excuse to make.more. That blue would be stunning with some barred turkey feathers.
I made some white ones years ago that still look pretty good, although you can tell they've been shot.
QuoteOriginally posted by Ironfist_Canada:
Just make sure to get the grain right .For safety sake mark the top of each arrow. You never know!. ;)
Agreed. I put a slight dimple in the wood at the index mark of my nock . With em painted you will lose the grain orientation I bet the poly will do great protecting them
Well my kustom king order arrived , and in it was my deluxe taper tool and points so I'll get to cutting and tapering after my finish is all done!!
Did you know that you can get Fletch-Lac Gloss Lacquer in colors other than clear? When I was shooting wood arrows, we used to dip our target and stumping shafts in yellow fletch-lac, because they showed up so well in the grass and leaves.
Should hold up good as long as the are sealed well.
It's all about what you use to overcoat the paint. As long as the finish hold up, so will the paint.
Been fully painting my wood shafts for years, using water based paints from Hobby Lobby. I always used gasket lacquer to seal. The last batch of gasket lacquer I've used has given me problems cracking after about a year. But the paint always held up after lots of shooting.
Bow hawk,
Are you just wiping the hobby paint on the shaft?
That's how I did the blue and yellow. I just squeezed it onto a papertowel and twisted my shaft thru it to coat.
If you don't want to mess with paints or laquers you can get pretty good results with leather dyes for a LOT less effort and odor.
I use Fiebings Leather dye.
Blue & yellow
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/Stumpkiller/Bowhunting/DSCN1121_zps87ee10ff.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/Stumpkiller/Bowhunting/DSCN1127_zps2183d4ef.jpg)
Red
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/Stumpkiller/Bowhunting/HPIM2065.jpg)
MinWax poly over the dye to seal it. Fletch with Duco or Bohning tape.
Brian, I usually brush it on. Takes a little longer to do, but the majority of my arrow making is in the winter time, so no need to hurry.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/bowhawk75/097.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bowhawk75/media/097.jpg.html)
Those are great.
As far as dyes go, I am playing with rit dyes too, just not getting the color looking for
Back when I was a kid, I bought shafts by the thousand and dipped with thinned automotive lacquer. It worked very well. In fact, I has some that were shot heavily back then and still are holding up great thirty years later.
I probably should not have done it indoors. Probably explains a few of my more endearing quirks!
I had a video years ago of Paul Brunner making arrows and he recommended wiping the shafts with the paint color of choice. Two or three coats depending on what you wanted.
This gave the arrows a nice color but still let the grain show through. I did a bunch over the years but they are all lost or broken by now.
Ttt
My fully painted arrows are holding up well.
I just picked up some rustolem classic blue today , thinned it and did my first full dip instead of wipe on.
Also gonna get some baby blue made up to do like the old arrows .
I'm in a debate right now with myself as I made some sitkas in classic form , but I'm really enjoying the look of fully painted.
Those are some sharp looking arrows..
:thumbsup:
I am watching this thread and the one on target burn for some new info. I also want to do full length shafts. Right now the only paint I would trust is Fletch-Laq. It has been around for many years and still available unlike the auto paints of old.
I bought some exterior latex flat paint and had it mixed in yellow. I have three shafts ready for dipping, but, not enough time to do it right now.
Here is one I dipped. This is the rustolem classic blue you see next to safety yellow and red. I thinned it down , 5oz of mineral, 6 or 7 oz of blue. One dip. This pic is of no poly coats yet.
My other blue in earlier thread is hobby lobby paint I wiped on.
(http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q618/brianlocal3/arrows/8B39924E-D829-41FF-8258-1AFAC648783D_zpszyubpdkj.jpg) (http://s1166.photobucket.com/user/brianlocal3/media/arrows/8B39924E-D829-41FF-8258-1AFAC648783D_zpszyubpdkj.jpg.html)
This one is Krylon pumpkin orange spray paint. 4 coats of wipe on poly
(http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q618/brianlocal3/arrows/7B0FFA2A-8324-4975-9E46-09CD9374E69D_zpsxpu7ljdc.jpg) (http://s1166.photobucket.com/user/brianlocal3/media/arrows/7B0FFA2A-8324-4975-9E46-09CD9374E69D_zpsxpu7ljdc.jpg.html)
Brian,
I like the blue. Was there a white color in the same paint. Does the paint "feel" like an enamel?
I just picked a doz. Acme cedars out of my stash, all the same spine and no more than 5 grains diff in weight. I am going to make them up for Long Bow Safari this July. Hence my interest in your progress.
Yes, there is a white also. And it dries hard and slick to the touch, just like the industrial enamel I use at work.
I just put my 4th coat of poly on the shaft, I'll take a pic when I get home from work.
Thanks Brian for doing the leg work on this project. I really like that blue. I am thinking of mixing white with some blue to get a lighter shade. I am thinking the lighter blue will show up better on the desert floor when I miss.
If you hold off I'm buying some baby/sky blue this week to try. I'll let you know how it works .
Krylon sells periwinkle that's pretty cool
(http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q618/brianlocal3/arrows/64F41FE3-D4B4-4B46-8696-B324FE5C9F67_zpszcbwsn7b.jpg) (http://s1166.photobucket.com/user/brianlocal3/media/arrows/64F41FE3-D4B4-4B46-8696-B324FE5C9F67_zpszcbwsn7b.jpg.html)
This is a practice shaft of mine (cresting is thick)
Nice work on these, the creativity here never ceases to amaze me.
:clapper:
If you use a ploy coat over the paint for protection, then use the Massey finish, you'll have a very hard durable finish which does better with target burn. If you don't use the coat of poly first, the Massey finish will strip the paint from the shaft due to the acetone. It's easy to make. Just use the twin tubes of the 2ton Epoxy glue. Squirt about half into a baby food jar and then add a couple oz. of acetone and stir well. Wipe on with a 3"x3" piece of old tee shirt or under wear. Let dry over night, buff with 0000 steel wool in between coats and do about four to five coats. It's the best finish I've used and I do all my wooden arrows with this method.
I think I have found a winner !!!
I'm loving this
(http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q618/brianlocal3/arrows/5A618223-3886-4784-B703-0D3893D88F23_zps2vsecwte.jpg) (http://s1166.photobucket.com/user/brianlocal3/media/arrows/5A618223-3886-4784-B703-0D3893D88F23_zps2vsecwte.jpg.html)
Finally got around to dipping and cresting some yellow Pearson style.
These will have two green hens and black parabolic cock feather with green snap-on nocks. My wife picked the colors.
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f94/Equismith/101_3979.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/Equismith/media/101_3979.jpg.html)
Bud,
Those turned out looking really nice . I'm liking that combo!!
Nicely done!
I have several ALL Black "Ninja" Arrows, as My Granddaughter calls them. hahaha
Finished
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f94/Equismith/101_3997.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/Equismith/media/101_3997.jpg.html)
Sweet! :thumbsup:
Very nice!
Still at it Brian...
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f94/Equismith/101_4251.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/Equismith/media/101_4251.jpg.html)
I just finished my Full White dipped deer hunting arrows for the Kempf Longbow. Doug Fir from Surewood Steve, went with 2 Chartruese and 1 White.
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/001_zpse9ea3e09.jpg) (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/sf1oak/media/001_zpse9ea3e09.jpg.html)
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/003_zpse9389b8b.jpg) (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/sf1oak/media/003_zpse9389b8b.jpg.html)
Outstanding !!!! I'm loving these looks
Joe,
What type of paint are you using?
Walt...I used Bohning paint for my crown dipping, this way it's compatible with Fletch Tite. I experimented with Rustoleum white out of the spray can.
I applied 3 coats after sealing the arrow with 3 coats of Minwax Poly. I'm not applying any clear finish over the bottom portion. Since I was in no rush on these, I gave them 48 hrs after each application.
I'm sure I could have hand rubbed in 3 coates of White using water base paints but Home Depot is 3 miles up the road and alot cheaper.
Joe,
Thanks for the info. I bought some pink feathers at PBS last weekend and am looking at making my four year old granddaughter a set of arrows. White should work for the base color with pink and black cresting.
My hunting partner & I are playing with all white shafts. We are trying this mostly because wood color shafts are harder to find in the brush if we miss a Grouse. We are trying to see if these will be easier to find. Of course if there's snow on the ground a different color would probably be better.
We aren't using them for practice so don't know how well they hold their color shooting targets. I've sprayed mine with regular old hardware store spray paint.......
Back in the day the old Bear Archery arrows were painted a solid color.
I tried some red dye once. Turned out pretty nice.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/reddogge/Archery/IMG_0777.jpg)
Very nice!!!!
reddogge
Those are really nice.
Here are my latest 6. Full length yellow tapered spruce. Used oil based rustoleum with a sponge brush on these:
(http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr180/two4hooking/4c81ca8b-fdc3-4a56-be64-ca5b1eeace23_zpse1d0da25.jpg) (http://s481.photobucket.com/user/two4hooking/media/4c81ca8b-fdc3-4a56-be64-ca5b1eeace23_zpse1d0da25.jpg.html)
:thumbsup: 2fer :)
reddodge, those look great!!
Almost full dip
(http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q618/brianlocal3/arrows/E8371C28-B2F3-4E09-8348-EE40D2BD0C10_zpsh7c1v9fq.jpg) (http://s1166.photobucket.com/user/brianlocal3/media/arrows/E8371C28-B2F3-4E09-8348-EE40D2BD0C10_zpsh7c1v9fq.jpg.html)
(http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q618/brianlocal3/arrows/26BB44F3-3B9A-4CF2-8FFD-7369375EFD0D_zps8xqywcsj.jpg) (http://s1166.photobucket.com/user/brianlocal3/media/arrows/26BB44F3-3B9A-4CF2-8FFD-7369375EFD0D_zps8xqywcsj.jpg.html)
Left arrow is just rustoleum enamel spray
Right arrow has two coats of poly
(http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q618/brianlocal3/arrows/B8D1F5A7-DD67-490C-89DB-D1C4074CB0ED_zpsnc1drxz3.jpg) (http://s1166.photobucket.com/user/brianlocal3/media/arrows/B8D1F5A7-DD67-490C-89DB-D1C4074CB0ED_zpsnc1drxz3.jpg.html)
Brian
That's very close to what mine look like. :D I'm hoping they'll be easier to find without snow on the ground.
I got a set of white shaft painted arrows with cresting from Elite Arrows, and they have held up remarkably. I would not hesitate to get another set
Good looking arrows guys. :clapper:
I usually crown dip my arrows the last 10 inches before I crest them. I then spray paint the cresting with 3 light coats of clear poly before I brush on three coats of water-based poly prior to fletching. I've never had the cresting or crown dipping wear off however, I've found that some target materals will mar the paint at times...still, I keep right on using them.
Started painting my surewoods orange last year, sur (http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj633/darinputman/20141104_155756.jpg) (http://s1271.photobucket.com/user/darinputman/media/20141104_155756.jpg.html) e does cut time spent looking for arrows.
AWSOME looking sticks!!!
I have a Totally Black Arrow, I call it "The Black Death" made it just for the heck of it and my neighbor just went Berzerk over it! Had to make him one so he would leave Mine Alone! :biglaugh:
Now that's hiliarious
I saw a video the other day - a trad dude that was instinctive shooting a wheelie now - painted his arrows white like fitzgeralds used to do - said he thought it helped his shooting?
Too funny Shakes!
Brian, Re you using the water based or petroleum based poly?
I've been using the hobby lo by water based acrylics with good success. Followed by three coats of wipe on water based poly. Looks good and all.but wonder if the petroleum based wipe on might be a bit tougher?
I personally use the oil based poly. I found water based to be too soft for my liking.
There is no compatibility issues with the acrylic, I use it too