Whitewood bow finishes

[snowplow]

Hey guys, I think I'm past the point of danger with the vine maple bow I'm making for my boy. I am not all that familiar with whitewood bows. No color and no obvious grain really. Anybody got some ideas on finishes to make this look good?

[PEARL DRUMS]

Sometimes a light stain like pecan or golden oak is just enough to highlight the grain. Depends how dark you want it.

[dylanholderman]

Heat treating can also bring out the grain on the belly, depending on the wood.

[blackhawk]

Dye and or dyes

[Pat B]

Alcohol based leather dye works well as well as Rit Dye diluted in Alcohol. Hand rubber charcoal powder will bring out the grain but can be a bit messy to apply. Most bow finishes will work over any of these dyes or stains.

[bubby]

They all work depends on what you want I've used dark walnut which isn't super dark and then used brown rit to do a fade

[bubby]

Here's a pic of a maple bow as described before

[Joec123able]

To me, dying or staining a bow is like modernizing a classic car, it makes me cringe  but there's no doubt some dye or stain can take a boring looking wood and make it beautiful.

[snowplow]

Thanks for the ideas!

[autologus]

A vinegaroon stain looks good on whitewood.

Grady

[riverrat]

i grease them burnish and in time they age. a pure white bow made of American elm has gone from pure white to a tannish/yellowish with a toasted belly .took about a month.love the looks of it now. to make it pretty i burnt in some decorations on the belly side.sometimes i stain the tips.i like decorating the belly more than anything. gives me something nice to look at in between shooting.if it looks all glassy shiney. i dont like it. any colorations i use are natural . like walnut husks, poke berries, trumpeter vine flowers, grass, stuff like that. i dont like my bows to look too walmartish.Tony

[Mo_coon-catcher]

A bees wax finish puts a nice ligh honey color. Plus it's quick, easy, and is still the natural color of the wood, as in no stains or dyes. Unless Im finishing something with a skin or cloth backing I've gone to using beeswax/grease for finishing bows. There's no drying time so as soon as you get it worked in and polished up, your done.

Kyle

[snowplow]

Cool idea, I'll look into that. I've not seen beeswax done.

[stuckinthemud]

I use wax finish for indoor work, how durable is it for outdoor use?

[GB]

I like the way aniline dye highlights the grain on white wood bows, especially on hickory.  On maple, I like to steel wool it.  Gives it an antique look.  It also dries fast mixed with denatured alcohol.
Love the stain job on your maple bow, bubby.