need some advice for finish on self bow.

[bearbowman]

I have a hickory self bow that i want to finish. can i use regular store bought stain? is there some that's better than others? i have a lot of min wax products at home.

secondly, what do you use to seal it?

thanks in advance,
Bob

[whitewoodshunter]

Miniwax works good. Just let it dry good and lightly go over it with 000 steel wool. I use miniwax wipe on poly to seal my bows

[Pappy]

On Hickory I usually use 5 or 6 coats of Gun stock Tru oil. Then spray satin Polly and if I plan to hunt with it I will wax it with turtle wax. Hickory need to be sealed as much as possiable with what ever you decide to use.
   Pappy

[Pat B]

One of my favorite colorations for hickory is charcoal dust rubbed into the grain. I've done it dry, with a little water or with an oil like bear grease or linseed oil. It highlights the grain but isn't dark on the wood. Any regular finish will work on it after a few days of drying.
   If you use water, it will raise the grain so a light sanding after will be necessary.
  Also, leather dye works well as well as Rit dye in alcohol or water but again, the water will raise the grain.

[George Tsoukalas]

Sure you can use store bought stain. I don't like to use water based products on hickory though. Rit dye in denatured alcohol is what I've been using lately though it's not an easy application. YOu can also blend 2 or 3 different colors  on the bow. Oil based stain will work well also. I finish with 2 or 3 coats of spar urethane. Jawge

[Ryano]

Hickory tends to not take oil based stains evenly. I prefer alcohol based stains....

[brownhillboy]

I've used Minwax stains on hickory with no problems, and then sealed with either minwax poly or tru-oil.  Either one works fine, but I prefer the tru-oil.