Wood sealer

[Justin.schmidt23]

Was wanting to know what is a good sealer to use for the ends of a stave and also after your build it. I bought some clear satin polyurethane but is VERY sticky not a big fan. Also what do you use to clean the brush after? Mineral spirits? I tried hot water and Dawn dish soap with no luck

[loon]

Yeah I'd like to know about a good varnish that is water resistant and can be wiped or brushed on
Tru oil gets pretty sticky too..

[turtle]

I use bullseye shellac in a spray can for sealing staves. Scrapes or sands off easily.  Denatured alcohol is supposed to remove it also but I haven't tried it.

[Pat B]

I agree with Turtle. I've used Bulls-eye shellac in a spray can for years and it works great. I keep a can on my work table all the time.

[loon]

it's just shellac? I don't like having to spray so I'd probably just wipe shellac with my fingers, buy shellac pellets FLAKES and a solvent (ethanol?)
unless the shellac spray can doesn't go bad...

shellac gets all bubbly and breaks off with sunlight UV damage from my experience though so I'd at least put something UV resistant on top if it's gonna be in the sun

[BowEd]

Shellac is hard to beat.Most anything sticks to it.Dries fast too.If your wanting a finish that stays clear/does'nt yellow/is fast drying[30 minutes]/very hard & durable/easily touched up too then lacquer is pretty darn good.Not exactly natural but still.Magna lac the dull finish.Best applied with a spray gun with 4 to 5 thin coats.Brushed on it dries so fast it can get put on too thick and that's no good.Clean up with a lacquer thinner.A woodsmith store near you will have it.
To me it's too specialized and expensive of a finish to seal ends of staves though and I use shellac for that.Denatured alcohol cleans up shellac.

[DC]

I got a small jar and cut a brush to fit inside. I put about an inch of shellac in the jar. I do the backs and ends of the stave. The brush stays in the jar, never have to clean it and it's always ready. I've had mixed results removing it with alcohol so I use my go to remover, laquer thinner.

[Justin.schmidt23]

Thanks again gentleman for helping this new guy out yet again I went to HD the other day but the only shellac they had was like 14 bucks and the wife wasn't having that lol

[BowEd]

Well she'll raise holy he!! on the cost of Magna lac then.It's a little more than shellac.Just tell her you'll use it on some furniture you'll make for her.

[Justin.schmidt23]

Well she'll raise holy he!! on the cost of Magna lac then.It's a little more than shellac.Just tell her you'll use it on some furniture you'll make for her.

Ya know, she has been bugging me about our kitchen table.... haha

Another question: a hackberry stave I'm currently debarking has a couple small knots on the back. Should I toss it or try and make it work? They're pretty much dead center

[BowEd]

Now here's a cheap very serviceable option for ya but after using it,no other finish can be put on it.It was used by a friend of mine on a self bow he used to hunt up in Alaska with.Used it as a walking stick across swamps and everything.It is a known option too.Use paraffin melted in with a hair dryer.Guaranteed it to be waterproof.
Can be used to seal ends of staves too.

[BowEd]

If you did'nt violate the knots it should be good to go.It's just character.

[Justin.schmidt23]

that's pretty interesting I might look into that. I thought about using the f word (fiberglass) to back some bows but that just doesn't feel right.
Well I kinda tried to chop em off so it may be a no go

[Justin.schmidt23]

I got a small jar and cut a brush to fit inside. I put about an inch of shellac in the jar. I do the backs and ends of the stave. The brush stays in the jar, never have to clean it and it's always ready. I've had mixed results removing it with alcohol so I use my go to remover, laquer thinner.

You got a picture of that? Definitely something I'd wanna try

[mikekeswick]

As Beadman says paraffin wax. It is what hardwood suppliers use....I've used it as a bow finish too.