Fiebing’s and finish compatibility

[Kidder]

Is minwax tung oil finish compatible over top of fiebing’s dyed bamboo? Thanks.

[bownarra]

Yes

[Eric Krewson]

I would make your stained bamboo a little darker than you want, Fiebings will fade over time.

[BowEd]

Yes I use an alcohol based fiebings stain.Let it dry good to the color you want.I cover it with tongue oil based spar varnish 50/50 varnish to mineral spirits [at least 2 coats] with a brush.No massaging in like tru oil.Different bases used.Color holds up over time very well even on bamboo with just lightly sanded rine on it yet.

[Eric Krewson]

 I to have found a little more rind will hold the color better, taking it all off will make your bow more prone to pop a splinter on the bamboo.

I like to put the stain on thickly and rub it back with a scotch bright pad. The dark streaks and places are where the rind is still on the back just sanded down a bit.


 

[BowEd]

Yep...That's the way I do it too.I like the looks of that.I lightly sand prior with 150 or 220 grit is all.I leave the nodes to be what they want to be.

[bownarra]

Yes the rind on if you are dying.
Boo won't pop slinters if you remove the rind properly. Same as removing the last bit of early wood on an osage ring you are chasing - you do not touch the stuff underneath - at all! Of course if you do then yes you are more likely to pop a splinter.

[Eric Krewson]

Early on I always made a clean back on bamboo with a cabinet scraper followed by sandpaper. I raised a splinter very now and then and decided it was the way I removed the rind. On close examination I could see tiny cuts across the back every so often where I had put the cabinet scraper hook down on the bamboo back. You just about needed a magnifying glass to see them but they were there and showed up with that first coat of stain. No matter how carefully I used my cabinet scraper I could still find one or two tiny cuts, all it takes is one to pop a splinter and these things were microscopic.

I changed my procedure to light scraping to get partially through the rind and sandpaper for all the rest, leaving more rind at the nodes and any down in the valleys between the nodes untouched. None of the bows I made after I changed my ways about 10 years ago have popped a bamboo splinter.

Back in the day everyone wants my bamboo backed bows and I really cranked them out. Being semi retired from bow making now I have only made one in the last two years.