What do you finish your wooden arrows with?

[crooketarrow]

  I use stain and wax and a hair dryer on shoots after fletching.
 But when I used dowel shafts (GOTTEN BY THE 100) I ended up useing SPRAY POLY AND STEEL WOOL the most. Up until then I used everything you could think of and some you don't want to know about.

[Stefan]

danish oil is a durable finish if you ask me. I do 2 coats on arrows. It seals the shaft  and doenst wear

Steve b. do you just whipe on tb III with a rag or something? you thin it with water?

[Dictionary]

I use wax.....i use wax on everything. Bows, arrows, and any other wood work i do.

Melt the wax over a fire. Take a rag or something and rub it on the wood. Then heat the wood over a fire. This melts the wax and allows it to penetrate the wood. Has a nice dull shine over it.

Anyone else do this?

Do you wax the shaft before fletching/nocking/pointing? I would think any glue would hardly stick to the wax.

I dont usually use glue on my arrows much as i wrap through the fletchings so i typically wax the shaft prior to fletching. If using glue though, after is preferrable.

[steve b.]

Stefan, I don't dillute.  I smear it on with a finger until the whole shaft is milky white.  In an hour you can't tell you even put anything on.  The shaft will feel gritty.  I pull it through the steel wool gently about 3 times and its done.  I'm sure you could polish it after it fully hardens.

[kevinsmith5]

I believe I'll be taking a shaft cutoff and testing out this glue finish..I seriously thought about buying a gallon of TBIII last week because of how much I use it making bows, this may make me pick it up for sure.

[outback118]

Tung oil , two coats , fine steel wool between coats. More coats will give a deeper finish if you are making show pieces. I do shafts before fletching so I have no moisture problems and warping. It takes over night between coats. I also do my gun stocks this way if needed redone. The finish will darken with age but not too fast.

[twilightandmist]

2 parts wax to one part pitch. good stuff for everything waterproofing. i swear by it.

[JW_Halverson]

My arrows are usually finished with one bad shot and a rock hidden in the grass. 

I've done a lot of finishes and each one seems to have it's best uses and advantages.  The fastest finih was from 3Rivers.  Their gasket lacquer literally dries in moments.  I used to triple dip a dozen shafts and be done in 10 minutes.  Period.  But, if an arrow gets sustained moisture and swells ANY at all, the lacquer cracks and lifts off in chips.

Wipe or spray poly is a great finish, the spray cure faster, but still requires plenty of time.

Spray shellac is another quick finish, but you will also need to lay on several coats over the course of a day. And I have had problems with fletching coming loose. Others have not had that problem though  Your mileage may vary.

[FAW]

Two coats of a dark stain, usually walnut, four to five coats of spar varnish, steel wool between coats and final coat, then fletch and a hard wax well dried and rubbed in.

[CherokeeKC]

I also learned to use Tru oil on shoot shafts from PatB.  This should be a sticky thread!  Same question comes up every couple of months.  I think many would benefit from it being sticky topic.

[Bryce]

Titebond III.  One coat, done.  Smooth it down with a quick wipe of steel wool.

works GOOOOD!!!!

[burchett.donald]

Lard on the shaft and pitch varnish over the sinew.

[Forresterwoods]

I use teak oil. A couple coats and the grain really pops out...visually that is. It dries to the touch after wiping it...can be sealed over with anything in a few days. I simply wipe them down after some use and they shine right up.