Hey all:
What do you all use for waterproofing your fletchings?
I used an aerosol called No Snow for sometime. It was marketed by the people that make the whisker bisuit for compounds. I have since found out that if you take the label off the No Snow it really a shoe product called Meltonian Water and Stain Protector. It is half the price if you just buy the shoe product and it does dozens of arrows.
D.P.
I've been using Fletch-Dri. It comes in a silicone powder form and you just rub it on the feathers. I was really surprised at how well it works. It does take quite a while to do as you have to work it into each feather and shoot each arrow multiple times before all of the powder gets off, but it really repels water for a long time.
I buy mine from 3Rivers.
I have used a "Scotchguard" like product that an upholsterer buddy of mine gets. I don't have any now and can't remember the name. I have also used the Scotchguard brand in an aerosol can an it works well too. The spray on products need at least a day to dry, and if used for hunting, need to be sprayed well ahead of time because there is an odor associated with it.
Bisch
Goose feathers
I have tried a bunch..what I think works the best is a safari tuff quiver sprayed with silicone water proofer.
I know that is not your question per se, but that is what I have found works the best to keep fletching dry. I will hang my glove over the fletching on the arrow on my bow. If the glove gets too wet, I have two options...switch arrows or call it a day depending on the rain outlook.
I really like the "Tire Shine" products people spray on their car tires to make them shiny and black - the Westley's product seems to work best, but they're all about the same - Amour All Tire Black, etc. They do have sort of a wild cherry smell that I prefer to let air out a few days before hunting with them.
They not only make the feathers water resistant, but seem to make them wear resistant too.
I have used the powder stuff which works well, in the past. I don't worry about it much anymore cause I have pretty much quit hunting in the rain.
Rough,
Tire shine? Really...that sounds interesting. Do you just spray it on the fetch or spray it in a cup and use a brush?
TBRA
I just lay the finished fletched arrows over a box or bucket over the dirt or a garbage can and spray them until they're well soaked. (try not to get it on concrete as it will stain it and can make it slippery)
Unscented hair spray
food grade or reg. silicon spray
No Snow. An aerosol that works excellent.
watershed. it's designed for fly tying.
(http://i748.photobucket.com/albums/xx121/Zradix/Watershed-2.jpg)
Works pretty good.
Doesn't seem to affect the feather much.
Just run a "bead" of it down the base of the fletch.
it wicks right up to the tip.
Let it dry over night.
Doesn't smell once dried.
And seems to stay on well after many shots.
Dries completely so it's not "slimy"
Next day you can run it under the faucet and the feathers stay good.
If you get em soaked and then TRY to mess up the feather you can..by squeezing them tight to the shaft or stroking them backwards with a lot of pressure etc.
I've been using it for years and have been happy with performance on very wet days.
And been happy with sitting them upside down in a bucket of water, pulling them out and shooting immediately.
The only waterproof fletching... Vanes. :thumbsup:
(http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/n559/jeffbschulz/Mobile%20Uploads/20141109_103003_zps3c9c22ad.jpg) (http://s1139.photobucket.com/user/jeffbschulz/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20141109_103003_zps3c9c22ad.jpg.html)
I use watershed also,, But I run the bead right at the top of the fletch and it soaks/runs down the feather it lasts a long long time ,,,years
VANES!!!! NO WAY! Get you some nice goose, or swan primary feathers and you will be good in any wet weather all day.
From painful experience, whatever you use verify that point of impact hasn't changed as a result. Missed a nice deer back in my wheelie days due to waterproofing crystals that you poured in a ziploc baggie and put around the fletched shaft to shake and coat. Changed point of impact about 7" @ 20 yds. The only thing I could figure was that it change the resistance or made them stiffer affecting the flight, but you couldn't feel any difference and it took a while to shoot enough for it to wear off and normal POI to return.
Camp dry or snow proof silicone spray is the way to go.