Tru Oil

[andybutrick]

I am ready now to glue up my first reflex/deflex hickory bow, pyramid pre-tillered and shot as a D bow, now adding a hickory backing.  I think I'm on the right track, mostly by feel.  I am a poor man bow builder.  I spend many hours sculpting the wood that I bend to send an arrow straight and true.  Will Tru Oil preserve hickory to not be so moisture sensitive?

[Weylin]

Nothing will prevent hickory from being moisture sensitive. The sealers only slow down the moisture exchange not prevent it. Your bow's MC will eventually equalize with whatever the relative humidity is in it's environment. What you can do is store it indoors in a dry place. If you are only taking it out to shoot for the day it wont have time to take on much moisture and then you can put it back inside.

[George Tsoukalas]

I usually give my bows 3 coats of spar urethane. It won't prevent the moisture exchange Weylin spoke off but I've found that if I get caught in a downpour it makes a great waterproofer so the grain doesn't get raised on the bow. It is usually pretty dry  in NH during the winter when I make my bows so humidity is not an issue then. In the summer the bows stay in AC which controls the humidity. Hickory needs to be dry when making the bow. 6-8% moisture content is what I shoot for. Jawge

[tom sawyer]

Tru-oil is an expensive way to finish a bow.  I'd suggest Formby's tung oil finish for a cheaper oil finish alternative.  Comes in high gloss or low.

[George Tsoukalas]

I should mention that I do give osage bows 3 coats of Tru Oil and then the 3 coats of spar. The Tru Oil fills in the pores. Jawge

[Bryce]

The more coats of Tru oil you put on the glossier it gets. It's easy to repair and cheap. More coats means slower moisture exchange. I live in the Pacific Northwest so naturally, I use 6-9 coats depending on the wood and it's purpose. IMO Tru oil is a must have.
Whatever you decide to use, I'm sure it will look great!

-Pinecone

[Starfire]

How long do you wait for it to dry after the last coat before use?

[Bryce]

24 hours is a safe time.

[mikekeswick]

I really don't think tru oil is all it's cracked up to be. I've had bows with 10 coats and still sinew gets soft after a full day in the rain. It's also not very scratch resistant at all. I won't use it anymore on customers bows.

[Weylin]

What have you used that keeps the sinew dry in the rain all day?

[sharpend60]

I also dont care for tru oil.
I dont want to put on 10 coats to get decent results.

I use wipe on poly satin.
2 or 3 coats and Im done.
Its durable and has good water resistance. Looks nice too.

[Bryce]

To each his own 

[Starfire]

I've just been using it, it looks nice, but it seems pretty soft.  I might try to sand it down some and poly over it.

[mikekeswick]

I use Rustins Plastic Coat on almost everything now - way more durabe, can be polished so you can see yourself in it or made flat and no waterproofing issues. Awesome stuff.

[BowEd]

I've been using this precatalyzed magnalac.It's a lacquer finish.Brush on or spray.Drys extremely fast compared to poly.Harder than poly too.Drys in 10 minutes.Three brushed on coats in one hour.Let set 2 hours to be sure steel wool it and it's ready to shoot.Nice satin finish when steel wooled.If you see some stiff spots in limbs you want to correct.Cabinet scraper takes care of it.Feathers back into finish beautiful.Can't see it at all.Seals it up best I've seen.The dull version is best.You can put it over TT3 or poly but it's best I think over itself.