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Offline Eastman

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Bow Staining "tricks"
« on: July 29, 2012, 08:22:25 am »
Hey guys,

Well the title pretty much sums it up :P. Apart from staining a bow with say, Walnut stain or whatever, what kind of effects can be created by for example, mixing two different stains,applying one type over another etc...?

I've heard of rubbing a stained bamboo back with acetone to give a nice rustic effect(but i'm not quite clear on how to do this)  and using steel wool left in vinegar for a grayish stain.

Any Ideas? Thanks for the advice :)
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''The joy is great of him who strays, in shady woods on summer days, With eyes alert and muscles steady , His long-bow strung, his arrows ready''  -Maurice Thompson

Offline johnston

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Re: Bow Staining "tricks"
« Reply #1 on: July 29, 2012, 08:49:06 am »
Ritt dye and alcohol is my favorite. I use an old coffee cup
to mix in. Put in a little dye, a splash of alcohol and stir.
 If the color isn't right on a test piece adjust accordingly.
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Offline Hillbilly

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Re: Bow Staining "tricks"
« Reply #2 on: July 29, 2012, 09:14:40 am »
Dye is the way to go. Fiebings leather dye is the best, but granular Rit dye mixed with rubbing alcohol works good, too. You can blend and fade colors, get all kinds of different effects.
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Offline osage outlaw

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Re: Bow Staining "tricks"
« Reply #3 on: July 29, 2012, 10:09:40 am »
Rit Dye and Alcohol for me also. 
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Offline crooketarrow

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Re: Bow Staining "tricks"
« Reply #4 on: July 29, 2012, 10:42:32 am »
  Ialso use RITT dye and alochol but have did lots of bows with just wate.
  If it's OSAGE I use leather dye.But mainly seal OSAGE and let age color it.
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Offline LivingElemental

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Re: Bow Staining "tricks"
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2012, 01:29:36 am »
I've never done this, but I knew people back home would throw wood into an old tent with a few cups of ammonia and let the sun do the rest. They said it changes the color of the tannin in the wood.
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Offline Tom Leemans

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Re: Bow Staining "tricks"
« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2012, 01:34:58 am »
I love alcohol type dyes. Lots of people like leather dyes, but the arrow dyes like those sold by Pine Hollow and Grey Ghost are great. Lots more color to choose from. Your imagination is the only limit.
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Offline stubshaft

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Re: Bow Staining "tricks"
« Reply #7 on: July 30, 2012, 03:04:25 am »
I use leather dyes and have mixed or layered a couple of different colors for effect.
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Offline Eric Krewson

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Re: Bow Staining "tricks"
« Reply #8 on: July 30, 2012, 11:20:55 am »
You can stain a bamboo back really dark with leather dye, then rub sections with a scotch bright pad to lighten or fade out areas.

I leave my nodes dark and rub out the sections between them for a sunburst effect.

The picture shows this a little bit but was taken to show material left on a node not the staining job.


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Offline tom sawyer

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Re: Bow Staining "tricks"
« Reply #9 on: July 30, 2012, 12:00:15 pm »
I wipe hedge with bleach to give it a darkened orange color.  Kind of gives it a head start on the darkening you eventually get from exposure to the sun.  Our hedge around here is really bright yellow at first.
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Offline Eastman

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Re: Bow Staining "tricks"
« Reply #10 on: July 30, 2012, 04:01:10 pm »
thanks for all the info so far guys, i think im gonna start testing them all out on wood scraps to check em all out. ;D

Eric, does the rind have to be removed first to accept the stain?
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''The joy is great of him who strays, in shady woods on summer days, With eyes alert and muscles steady , His long-bow strung, his arrows ready''  -Maurice Thompson

Offline Eric Krewson

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Re: Bow Staining "tricks"
« Reply #11 on: July 30, 2012, 04:17:31 pm »
Yes, the rind has to be removed.

Lately I have been sanding the rind off instead of scraping it. I end up leaving just just a few small patches of very thin rind. My thoughts are, scraping leaves a bunch of tiny cuts where the bur of the scraper contacts the bamboo. Even if you think you have these completely sanded out you will still be able to find a few after you apply the stain.

Bamboo fails in mysterious ways, often without a discernible reason. My hope is by sanding the rind off I remove one of the reasons
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