Your thoughts on finishes for bows

[mikekeswick]

Fullerplast is whats used on good guitars. I use a local car spray shop to do mine now. Tbird/fullerplast/buffalo hide bow finish are all very good but you need a spray shop for them really. Tru-oil is pretty good but not the toughest finish around.

[Siyah Later]

I use Danish oil on all of my bows.  It brings out the colour in the wood but doesn't really make it shiny unless you put on thick coats and don't rub them off.

[George Tsoukalas]

My osage bows get 3 coats t Tru Oil to seal the grain and 3 coats of spar urethane.
Bows from other woods get multiple coats of spar urethane.
Jawge

[LittleBen]

I really like minwax wipe on polyurethane, or spray polyurethane. I don't think any of the oil finishes compare in toughness. You can always wax it if you really need more moisture protection. It's idiot-proof to apply, it's relatively inexpensive, it's readily available, and all you need is a rag.

If I need to grain fill I will use superglue, then poly over that.

I guess it's harder to repair perfectly if you chipped or scratched it, but it's so much more resistant to scratching and cracking, that I don't sweat it. A light sand with steel wool, wipe with acetone, one coat of poly .... That will fix a lot of your minor damage sufficiently and takes minimal time.