Crown dipping Carbons?

[snag]

I have some CE Heritage shafts that I want to crown dip. I see where some spray Krylon Fusion. I cleaned the shafts with alcohol and let them dry and then wiped them down with a clean cloth. The paint orange peeled badly. I usually use an industrial paint that Sherwin Williams puts out on my wood arrows. Tried that and had the same results. Any suggestions? Should I use a different substance to clean them with?

[Gaff]

go to yor local sign shop and get some wraps made up.(just a sticker basicly) i use 1x7" pieces.
jamie

[Dan Worden]

CE says to use MEK for prep. I suspect the alchohol prep is the root cause.

[snag]

That's what I was thinking Dan. What is MEK? Can you get it at a paint store, hardware store?

[Chris Sims]

This has been covered a lot over on archery talk.  I had good luck with Krylon fusion.  Be sure to clean the shaft with acetone prior to spraying.  Use Loctite superglue gel.  My GT traditionals have held up very well.

[Peachey]

I had the same problem with the heritage shaft. All other cx shafts dip just fine. I think it is just that slick finish that comes from the factory. I was using bohning paint.

[snag]

I will try acetone tonight. Thanks Chris.

[Doc Nock]

MEK = Methyl Ethyl Ketone...danged nasty stuff and I might not have the chemical spellin positively correct...

I have an old ABS Apache camper and ole Meathook that visited here taught me how to melt abs plastic in MEK to make repair gook.

That stuff is about lethal!    Why I type funny!  

[JC]

I use acetone sparingly and it works fine, as does plain ol "paint thinner". Just don't soak the shaft in either. Mek works great, but like Dave says...it's way hazardous.

Temp and humidity play a bigger part in orange peel imho. Make sure the temp is well into the 60's for proper curing, the lower the humidity the better.

Spray very very fine mist using short bursts with the can while rotating the shaft continuously. It's much better to do multiple thin coats than one heavy one. I love pretty crests, don't care much for wraps or dipping...spray paint is my method of choice. Forget the Krylon fusion, it's a bit too thick and it's final finish may be adding to the orange peel issue. I prefer just plain ol Krylon...multiple thin coats, comes out way pretty.

[snag]

I will go at this in a different way tonight. Thanks for the advice. I will try some acetone before I resort to the industrial stuff! It has been in the low 50's here during the day and into the upper 40's in the evening. That probably didn't help the issue either.

[Shawn Leonard]

Snag acetone is fine, but I also hit them with some sandpaper real light and dip them. i use a golf tee as a plug and than a razor blade to cut around it too remove. Wraps are easier and look just as good. Shawn

[JC]

Yeah but Shawn, wraps add that ultra personal touch you get with cresting. I usually dip and crest 1/2 doz at a time...just so I can feel all artsy fartsy doing a different cresting/color pattern each time (I may keep some of the same general color patterns but almost always do something different cresting each time). I'd have to wait for the "wrap man" to understand what I wanted, then create and deliver them....I'll stick with crestin. Course, I use only carbon and some guys feel the same about wood vs. carbon as I do crestin vs. wraps. To each is own.

[SOS]

Spray crown and crest with testor's paint - does great.  Finished these up on Tuesday!



One other tip if you want an all wood look - at least on goldtips - is alcohol or acetone will take off the black writing.

Steve

[A.S.]

Snag, I have worked up a good "recipe" for painting carbons over the years. Sorry I didn't see this before. I start by lightly sanding the part of the shaft that you are going to paint (220 or finer grit). Then wipe with acetone.

Next, tape off and paint with spray lacquer (auto paint in a rattle can). Then I crest with testors model car paint. After all that is dry, I put 3 coats of Polycrylic Gloss spray over it.(If you are hunting with them, use steel wool to knock the shine off of the final coat). The gloss seems to be a harder coat than the satin Polycrylic.

Fletch with Duco, and have at it! Let me know how they turn out.

Allen

[kadbow]

I also do a very light sanding and wipe before spraying.  Works great.  I tried wraps and thought they were a pain when it came to refletching.

[snag]

Thanks guys. Got to go to the hardware store! I made the mistake of dipping some woodies this morning in Daly's.  Oh, don't get me wrong I love the finish that Dalys provides...but when you write the poundage in, supposedly, permanent art maker ink...it ran all down the pretty cresting I just did!!! Still shootable shafts obviously. Just not pretty! I was surprise to say the least. When I dip them in Spar Urethane that never happened. Anyway, looking forward to NOT repeating that mistake again...carbons or wood.

[A.S.]

I agree with Kadbow when it comes to wraps. I can strip an old feather off of my painted shaft and refletch without hardly damaging the paint.

With a wrap, obviously you have to remove the entire wrap.

[snag]

I have never liked the idea of wraps...don't know why. Just never felt like it was the way to go.