Author Topic: Bow Finish  (Read 13392 times)

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Offline Artus

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Re: Bow Finish
« Reply #15 on: December 16, 2009, 02:52:39 pm »

Offline Michael C.

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Re: Bow Finish
« Reply #16 on: December 16, 2009, 03:17:50 pm »
Is there a reason to not just use olive oil and then some beeswax? I am just asking because that's what I usually use, is the preservation quality not as good or is there a particular reason you use the products you've listed? Thanks.
"Friendship makes prosperity more shining and lessens adversity by dividing and sharing it."

Cicero

Offline Bowmonk

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Re: Bow Finish
« Reply #17 on: December 16, 2009, 06:45:11 pm »
Artus,

I have actually tried the antique oil finish before and it seemed pretty decent... can't complain much about it except for the drying time.

Offline Artus

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Re: Bow Finish
« Reply #18 on: December 16, 2009, 07:20:04 pm »
Is this stuff similar to tru oil, or is true oil far better? How long was the drying time.

Offline fusizoli

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Re: Bow Finish
« Reply #19 on: December 16, 2009, 07:27:46 pm »
Sometimes I use oils and wax but mostly  urethan because it is removeable if any repair or other color needs etc. Oil could remove with just one layer wood....but it is nice & natural.

Offline bryan irwin

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Re: Bow Finish
« Reply #20 on: December 16, 2009, 08:01:23 pm »
I use tru oil it's easy to apply dries quick and rub down with oooo steel wool betwine coats and put on about 4 coats.
bryan irwin

Offline Artus

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Re: Bow Finish
« Reply #21 on: December 16, 2009, 11:41:05 pm »
I´m gonna try to get tru oil in Montreal next week.

Offline CraigMBeckett

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Re: Bow Finish
« Reply #22 on: December 17, 2009, 02:52:02 am »

Quote
I mix all these ingredients together when cold and then add another (about) 4% terbebine by volume to the mix (you can by this at paint shops)

Kiwijim

terbebine??? Do you mean terebine? Have searched for terbebine but failed to find any trace of it however have found terebine which is described as:

"A lead free, resin based, drier. Designed to be mixed into paint, oils and varnishes to improve drying. Mix ratio is 1:16 or 250mls per 4L of paint, oil or varnish."

Craig.

Offline bow-toxo

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Re: Bow Finish
« Reply #23 on: December 17, 2009, 07:56:38 pm »
I use beeswax with an occasional linseed ouil rub like in the old days. No problems in thirty years.

Offline George Tsoukalas

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Re: Bow Finish
« Reply #24 on: December 17, 2009, 07:59:15 pm »
Spar urethane is what I use as a sealer coat. # coats will do it. It is an exterior finish. It will go over stains and even Tru Oil. Tru Oil makes a great grain filler. Jawge
Set Happens!
If you ain't breakin' you ain't makin!

Offline lowell

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Re: Bow Finish
« Reply #25 on: December 17, 2009, 08:08:13 pm »
I've use the rub on a lot ... on arrows and bows and it is a very nice finish and holds up very well. 

Even on an arrow I lost in the spring turkey hunting and found in the fall while turkey hunting!! It still had a nice finsh on it!!
My son says I shoot a stick with a stick!!

Offline Michael C.

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Re: Bow Finish
« Reply #26 on: December 17, 2009, 09:37:48 pm »
I use beeswax with an occasional linseed ouil rub like in the old days. No problems in thirty years.

Yeah one of the guys that has been sort of mentoring me here says a bow needs to breath and sealing it is not a good idea in his opinion. He taught me the most sealing he does is with a bit of bear fat and some beeswax, but I don't have bear fat around the house so I use olive oil and a stick of beeswax I got for a guy I get honey from locally. Seems to have worked fine for me, but I have had bows change with the weather a bit more than someone who probably seals them completely. I don't have any problem with that though, so I guess it's just up to the individual and how much streamlined performance they want.
"Friendship makes prosperity more shining and lessens adversity by dividing and sharing it."

Cicero

Offline Frode

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Re: Bow Finish
« Reply #27 on: December 18, 2009, 01:08:34 pm »
...I don't have bear fat around the house so I use olive oil and a stick of beeswax...
Is there a reason to not just use olive oil and then some beeswax? I am just asking because that's what I usually use...
Hi all,
What's the procedure for beeswax/oil finishing?  My finishing experience, sadly, is limited to slapping something water based on a bookshelf and getting the books on as quick as possible.
Frode
If it doesn't rap the lintel, it might not be a longbow.

Offline Michael C.

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Re: Bow Finish
« Reply #28 on: December 18, 2009, 01:25:22 pm »
Frode,

The way I typically do it is oil it up until it has a very thin cover on it, not where it is super oily/shiny, usually with just some cheesecloth/paper towel and wipe the remnants off with a clean cloth.

Then I take it and rub it down with the cloth until I can tell that the oil has been worked in, you don't need very much oil for the way I do it and you don't want to put to much on because you will have a hard time with getting the beeswax worked in later. Just polish it with your cloth until you can't tell that the oil has been applied, you don't want to be able to have oil on your hands when you run them over the bow.

Once it's clean of any remaining oil I take the beeswax and work it all over the bow, kind of like you would a surfboard or the bottom of a skateboard. Then you rub the snot out of the beeswax until the friction is basically melting the wax and working it into the wood, it seals it a bit but it's not like a chemical seal, so it's not water proof. It will bead off most water and you have to reapply the treatment every now and then, 1 or 2 every year depending on how rough you are on the bow.

Doing it this way doesn't give it a super shine like some of the chemical treatments, but like I said it's just my preference to do it this way and I am not a professional woodworker, so it may be the wrong thing to do entirely :) I just like the way it looks and it gives my bows a measure of protection from water and hand oils, plus they smell like honey which may not be a good thing for hunting :) I also like that it gives it a natural luster to the finish and it's not to glossy, I'm not particularly fond of glossy bows. Some of the glossed ones are really pretty because it brings out the character of the wood, but again it's just personal preference that I do it this way.

I have noticed that my bows tend to be affected by weather more than some of the treated bows that I have shot on the same day, so you might want to take this into account. I don't mind working with change in bows though and for me that's just part of the character of these wood bows. If I wanted something that wasn't sort of alive in my hands I would shoot a modern bow with all the fixins.
 
"Friendship makes prosperity more shining and lessens adversity by dividing and sharing it."

Cicero

Offline Frode

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Re: Bow Finish
« Reply #29 on: December 18, 2009, 04:13:44 pm »
Thanks, Michael C.  I'm looking for something without fumes, that would provide a little protection for a bow that's mostly going to be used for fair weather/indoor target shooting.  The bow is maple, and beeswax sounds like it would bring out the depth of the grain without an overpowering gloss.  I'll try it out on some scrap today.
Frode
If it doesn't rap the lintel, it might not be a longbow.