Wally World and/or Ace Hardware cheap spray paint after the shafts have been sealed. I spray one color on, then the second while the first is still wet to get the mottled effect. Shafts are stained and sealed first.

QuoteOriginally posted by graybarkhunter:
Reddoge and/or anybody, what type of glue do you use to attach feathers to the carbon shaft with poly on top of all the capping/cresting..Thanks

Fletchtite Platinum....works perfectly

QuoteOriginally posted by A.S.:
 

QuoteOriginally posted by graybarkhunter:
Reddoge and/or anybody, what type of glue do you use to attach feathers to the carbon shaft with poly on top of all the capping/cresting..Thanks

Fletchtite Platinum....works perfectly [/b]

Thanks men, wonder what would happen if a super glue type adhesive was used?

QuoteOriginally posted by Mike Vines:
When I spray the crown, I use rustoleum enamel.  I like how it takes a minimun of 2 hrs to dry.  It gives the paint time to flow together by not drying to fast, which leaves you with a smooth nearly flawless finish.  After 48hrs dry time(with this paint), I can move on to the next phase of arrow making.

I have learned that arrow making is supposed to be fun, NOT fast.  Sit back, and enjoy the process, and every little detail of it.

This works for me too using the same paint.  Crest with Testors enamel or Whispering Winds and two or three coats of wipe on water based poly over everything.  It's a nice low odor way to do arrows.

Just make sure you do your spraying outdoors or you will end up with a fine layer of white on everything...don't ask how I know that...  

here is a post I did on a different site as to how I do my arrows.  Hope this helps.
(its lengthy)


Step 1- Gather up the gear

I first take a ruler and mark a 10" line on a piece of paper.  On most arrows of full length the crown dip is 10" long.  I use 5.5" shield cut feathers, if you use blazer vanes or the likes you can cut the crown dip in size to be more proportionate to the shaft length and fletching.  In my case I leave the shafts at full length because that is what my bow dictates.  
I think when I have made arrows for compounds I have done a 6" crown dip for the blazer vane arrows.  You could probably even cut that down to 4" if you wanted.  


I use the blue sharpie to mark the shaft at 10"
I use the steel wool to rub the logo sticker off the carbon shafts.  (apply a little goo gone or goof off to the steel wool and rub the logo of the shaft.  It will come off, if you use shafts that have a finish on them like fake wood grain, camo, etc.  This will also remove that.  So if you can live with the decal being on the arrow skip this step.)
I use the masking tape to tape off the shaft at the 10" mark to prevent over spray while applying the crown dip.

Step 2- Tape off
Once you have the shaft marked to your desired length then you will want to mask off below the line so that you dont get over spray on the rest of the shaft.  If you do it can be removed with the steel wool, but its best to not make a habit of it.


Step 3- Select a color
For this particular shaft it is a Beman ICS Bowhunter 400 shaft.  It will fit my 55# set of limbs for my longbow so it will be yellow.  The arrows that fit my 60# limbs are white.  Thats how I personally tell the difference between the shafts when the decals are rubbed off.  When applying the crown dip it is best to do it slow.  You dont have to fully coat the crown dip on the first go around.  Start the spray off the shaft and swing through the shaft in a horizontal manner while holding the shaft horizontal.  Rotate and repeat.  I can not emphasize enough that you do not want to lay it on thick.  If you put it on thick the paint will run and you will get a wavy crown dip and that just looks like trash.  Make sure that before you apply the second coat to the crown, that the first coat has completely dried.  In the summer this will be fairly quick, in the winter it takes a while.  I spray the shafts in the garage and let them set up to the tacky phase then bring them inside during the winter.  In the summer I dont need to worry about it.



~alright thats about all I can do for now.  I need to let the paint dry completely and order some feathers so that I can finish the shaft.  Ill try to finish this up early next week or over the weekend.

Alright so the crown dip is painted and dried fully, I then tape off where i want the swirl pattern to go and do that technique.

Remember the paper we marked the 10" off on?  Use that to mark off your pattern for cresting.  I usually just wing the design to find something I like.  Its usually something similar to this.


Then I lay the shaft on the paper and mark off the lines with a pencil or pen.  I put a dash across the spaces that are to be filled in.  


Once they are marked I then get out the cresting paint.  I have found that this paint works well for what I need it to do and its cheaper than buying the cresting paint.  I dont normally like to do really fine lines.  You can use craft brushes, auto pin stripping brushes, or you can buy sable hair cresting brushes.  I am cheap so I just use craft brushes.
I have the bohning crester and it works well.  You can buy better ones but you pay for what you get when it comes to cresters and they do not give them away.  I place the pad close to where I want to crest.  It helps to stabilize a little better I think.




Alright when cresting it is best to use two hands.  Place one hand on the desk and then place the paint brush on a finger on that hand while stabilizing with your other hand.  The more pressure you put on the brush the fatter your line will be.  When doing thick spots or places that need to be filled in, start in the middle and work out to your line.  Go slow take your time and it should come out even.  When trying to do the fine lines, apply a good amount of paint to your brush and then try to wipe it off on the edge of the can to get the bristles to lay flat.  Turn your brush so the flat bristles are up and down giving you a fine line to use on your shaft.  Move the brush into the shaft until the paint just starts to appear on the shaft.  Hold steady, the paint will work around the shaft gradually and youll get the fine line you want.




When your cresting is done let it dry completely.  COMPLETELY!!!!!  You dont want to rush the next step.  Last thing you want is a sealer coat put on top of a layer of paint that is not dry.  When it is dry I use a spray on sealer.  Apply it in a similar manner to how you put the crown dip of paint on.  This stuff is runnier than the paint so try not to drench the arrow in your first pass.  Hold way off the shaft and make several passes of thin coating.  Let it dry and repeat.



Alright thats it for now.  The shafts need to dry and I am still waiting on the feathers to get here.  When they get here I will finish this thing up


I hope this helps

Great Dustin! Thanks for taking the time to post all the photos with your information!

If you are going to mark your arrows, make your self a measuring tube out of 1/2" PVC. Get your self a bolt and screw it in one side. Keep measuring until you get to the depth you want I make mine 8". Now all you have to do is put the nock end in first and mark it at the top.

 

You can also make one for painting, by making a larger one to go over the point end. You never have to tape it off.

There's a lot of very helpful information here. Thank you guys for sharing.

QuoteOriginally posted by graybarkhunter:
Reddoge and/or anybody, what type of glue do you use to attach feathers to the carbon shaft with poly on top of all the capping/cresting..Thanks

I prefer Bohning fletchtape but when I glue I use Saunders NVP.

I use easton quick bond adhesive.  It will dry within a minute or two.

Great info here guys thanks, I got my arrows in the mail yesterday from Big Jim.  I was wondering if anybody tried using a primer base coat, kinda like you would for auto painting and such?  Also was wondering about adhesives, I have always used fletch tite platinum, just curious if there was any difference in other glues or just personal preference.

The last bunch I did I found rustoliem plastic paint spray in a can. They make it for spraying on plastic outdoor furniture. The arrows turned out great. I've been shooting them for a couple of weeks and the paint is bullet proof. I think it will be my new go to paint

I've been shooting these carbons painted with the Krylon Fusion for two years or more and they are still holding up. I shoot them all week plus 3-D every weekend just about.

Here's some I just got done.  Doug Fir using Krylon enamel.

Looks nice definately going to have to give it a try, that would look really nice with some grey goose feathers too along with the barreds.

I used this Rustoleum Clear and it disolved my testors paint, or appears that is has. I had let the thin stripes dry for approximately 6hrs.I will not use this in the future.

How much weight do you think painting a complete shaft will add to your arrow? Will it alter the shafts spine?

Not much, and no. For the short to the point answers.