Hey,

I'm wanting to build some bamboo arrows this winter and have the main building part down, fletching, nocks, points, all that stuff. What I need help with though is the finishing part of it. What stains can you use and can you not use? What sealers? Do you need to dip your arrows in the stain or sealer or can you wipe them both on? I've read that you can wipe stains on with an old rag such as a sock. Will this work with sealers too? I've heard that Minwax is good. Is it?

Thanks!

I do not seal mine and they seem to hold up pretty good. But I will be curious myself to see what works well on them. I was just building a new set tonight and it might be time to try something new!

Hmmm, not sure about the best stains but the bowyers here who make boo backed bows should be able to tell you what works.  I believe I've heard them talk about scraping off the "rind" on the outside but not sure.  I also think that many of them use dye instead of stain.

J.D. Jones (Horseapple) makes some awesome bamboo bows and does a stain job that makes them look like curly maple.  He uses his finger and rocks it back and forth somehow.

You might try a post title asking specifically about staining and sealing bamboo to get some of those guys attention.

If you want to stain boo arrows you will need to remove the rind then you will have to add a finish. I use Tru-Oil when I take the rind off. Any arrow finish should work fine. Usually I leave them natural or add scorch marks for decoration.
 Before you do any staining, finishing or sanding, straighten and temper your shafts. After that you can reduce the nodes to almost the same diameter as the internodes. I prefer to leave them natural by leaving the nodes in tack or heat and compress the nodes. I use self nocks and use field points for target shooting and stone and trade points hafted right into the cane for hunting. Glue on points can easily be used with cane too.

Thanks guys! Helps a lot...