Halfway through "skinning" my bow...question

[Wary Buck]

Alright, I'm halfway through skinning my longbow--well, probably more like 2/3 or 3/4's--and have a question before I proceed to the finish line.

I've got snakeskins glued down and trimmed and sanded the edges on my Pronghorn take-down limbs.  Looks great so far (thanks TradGang for advice so far and Shedrock for skins).  Before I put finish on the bow limbs, here's my question.

How many of you think the AC super-glue layer or two over the skin is vital to the project?  How many say just start applying Polyurethane coats?  Or anybody have other advice?  Maybe either course will work well.

I'm dying to finish this project but want to do it right.  I've heard some say the superglue layer can open up a can of worms on compatibility issues.  What say all of you?

(And, yes, I will post pictures when I'm done.  I'm putting prairie rattler skins over the green limbs of my 'Green Machine' Pronghorn.  The riser is a darker green laminate, and I darkened the brighter limbs some before applying the glue and skins and think I matched the final color of the skins perfectly to complement the riser.  You'll have to wait until the finished project for pics as I've got other projects in various stages of completion right now).

[Osagetree]

I've found superglue to turn white after a few years of weathered use.

Don't listen to me though,,, today I screwed up a copperhead skin on a selfbow.  

[J. Holden]

I have only skinned one recurve so I'm no expert.  With that said, you didn't mention removing the scales.  I'm assuming you have or are planning on it.  When that is done I'd suggest the Super-glue over the skins.  I didn't and when the limb's are rubbed towards the tips it feels as though you "snag" on the skins.  Maybe I missed some scales, I'm not sure.  But, I think the super-glue would have prevented this feeling.  I haven't had one peel but it sure feels like they could catch on something and come loose.  Hope this helps, look forward to seeing some pics.

-Jeremy  

[Wary Buck]

Scales are removed...

[SEMO_HUNTER]

I've only put skins on all wood bows and not over fiberglass so you may need some advice from someone whos done that before?

First, I don't use super glue over the skins. I followed Eric Krewson's thread for skinning a bow and he said it wasn't necassery and I have found that to be true also.

Next thing, I wouldn't use poly. It's too thin to fill the pores of the scale pockets. Tru Oil by Birchwood Casey is a much better option. Put a few coats of Tru Oil on buffing with 0000 steel wool in between coats, then lightly sand to knock the rough edges off the top of the scale pockets.....you will see what I mean when you get to that point and I use a lighter grit like 220 then 400 to get it buttery smooth. Then finish up with another 3-4 coats and you'll have a beautiful finish like you never imagined. If the shine is too much you can then add a layer of semi gloss poly over the Tru Oil or simply buff the shine down with 0000 steel wool and polish the swirl marks out with Pledge furniture polish. Water will also bead up and run off after the furniture polish treatment.

That's the best advice I've got and that's how I do it, works great for me and no problem with the skins as of yet.

Here's one I did using the method described above and the skins are over bamboo.

 

 

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Originally posted by fdlz58:
I have only skinned one recurve so I'm no expert.  With that said, you didn't mention removing the scales.  I'm assuming you have or are planning on it.  When that is done I'd suggest the Super-glue over the skins.  I didn't and when the limb's are rubbed towards the tips it feels as though you "snag" on the skins.  Maybe I missed some scales, I'm not sure.  But, I think the super-glue would have prevented this feeling.  I haven't had one peel but it sure feels like they could catch on something and come loose.  Hope this helps, look forward to seeing some pics.

-Jeremy    

You didn't sand the top of the scale pockets half way through the finishing process did ya?
That's a necassery step to getting a smooth finish with snake skins. Super glue would have only made it worse.

[Wary Buck]

SEMO--
Are you talking about sanding the skins (the top of the scale pockets) between coats of Tru-Oil or poly or whatever, or before beginning the finishing coats altogether?  

I'm reluctant to sand beforehand as I hate to lose the great color I've presently got on the skins.  

That's a beautiful bow you've posted pics of, by the way.  Nice job.  Again, thanks to all the help from everyone throughout this project (other threads too).
Bryce

[jsweka]

I've only skinned one glass bow that I built from a friend.  Got the skins from Mike Yancey at Pine Hollow Longbows and his advice was NOT to use superglue for the reasons others have already stated.  It turned out nice.

Unlike SEMO, I used polyurathane, but it did take a lot of coats to get it smooth (maybe 10 or so).  I wanted it as smooth as possible so a stringer would slide on it just like it would on the glass.

So consensus you have so far on this thread is to not use superglue.

[Pat B]

I like my snake skin backings to look like snake skins with scale ridges and all. I use Tru-Oil, 5 or 6 coats with a steel wool rubdown between coats. Then a quick spray of satin poly to cut the shine.
  Over the last few years I have read horror stories, right here on TG, about the super glue undercoat cracking and ruining the skin job. I'll stick with Tru-Oil and a rough finish.

[John Scifres]

I've never put CA glue on skins before.  I just use spray poly on top.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Originally posted by Wary Buck:
SEMO--
Are you talking about sanding the skins (the top of the scale pockets) between coats of Tru-Oil or poly or whatever, or before beginning the finishing coats altogether?  

I'm reluctant to sand beforehand as I hate to lose the great color I've presently got on the skins.  

That's a beautiful bow you've posted pics of, by the way.  Nice job.  Again, thanks to all the help from everyone throughout this project (other threads too).
Bryce

A light sanding after 3-4 coats of tru oil is what I normally do. That way the color is set and you won't lose any of it, it only removes the tops of the scale pockets and not any of the skin itself. Then finish off with 3-4 more coats of tru oil.

My tru oil dried up hard as a rock because of the extreme heat and me leaving it in the garage so I couldn't use it on John's trade bow and I used poly instead. I put as many coats on it as I could get, but didn't like the results as well as tru oil. Everybody has their own favorite way to finish off snake skins, so my way is just what works for me.
Sanding the top of the scale pockets off after several coats of tru oil doesn't take away from the beauty of the skins in any way at all or I wouldn't do it, they still have the look and feel of snake skins without the roughness of the edges of the scale pockets. Hope that make sense.

Thanks for the bow compliment.

[J. Holden]

I just hit the limbs with the steel wool prior to my next coat.  What I got was the steel wool being "picked" at and it was leaving little pieces of the steel behind.  I also started with a few coats of spray poly and switched to tru-oil and the finish was fine.  I'm not sure why I switched.

-Jeremy  

[ranger 3]

A little trick with Tru-oil is you have finished with it , tighten the cap and store up side down.

[frank bullitt]

Formby's tung oil, high gloss. You can apply several coats, to your liking!

The shine can be cut with fine steel wool for hunting, and easy to touch up!

I'm sure the tru-oil and any good poly would work fine also!

Anyone experience with the Massey finish on skins?

[DVSHUNTER]

I've skinned a few bows and prfer the tru oil finish over poly and spray finishes. I've also used shellac. It's a great finish but takes more coats for desired results.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Originally posted by ranger 3:
A little trick with Tru-oil is you have finished with it , tighten the cap and store up side down.

I have heard that before Ranger, but unfortunately I found out when my 8oz. bottle was more than half empty and it was too late to save it. I'm going to practice that trick from here on out with my new 8oz. bottle and also keep it in the house away from extreme temps.
I love this stuff!

[don s]

i guess i'll play devils advocate here. first i want to be clear that i have done just one glass bow with skins. i did use CA glue to finish it. 7 coats of super thin fast dry CA glue that i got from a local hobby shop. the skins were glued on with TBII and finished with the CA. that was several years ago and i have had no problems with cracking or turning white as others have experienced. i'm not saying to use CA. i'm saying that it doesn't always cause problems. i did it that way because the tutorial that i followed said to do it that way. i guess that was "the way" it was done at the time. i just looked up the tutorial i followed. it was posted in 2005 and is called "skinning a wapiti" and you can find it in the how to section. don

[Wary Buck]

I'm going with the Tru-Oil, but they had the spray at the store I went to so that's what I got.  Should I be using the liquid version instead?  

I've put maybe four spray layers on so far and it looks great, but I think I've got a ways to go before it's really smooth on top.

This looks gorgeous thus far and may make some others rethink their 'green' bows.  But at this rate it's going to be a little longer before I'm done.  I do appreciate all the input, even if it's not all in agreement.  This place is awesome and I'd not had the confidence to even try this project on this bow were it not for the original 'skinning a wapiti' tutorial here and knowing I could come to you all for help along the way.  Thanks and I'll post a pic when she's all done.

[frank bullitt]

Look foward to the pics, Bryce!

Sure she'll look great!