Color of Wood Shafts

[ThePushArchery]

Been wanting to make up some Black Shafted Cedars, so I bought some Ebony Minwax Stain.

I only use the Minwax stains on my cedars and they do a great job. For some reason this ebony did not work?! It just wouldn't take to the arrows.

Any ideas?

Also, what is a cheap inexpensive way to paint shafts without buying the dip tubes etc. Also what type of paint do you guys use? Something you can buy at a local hardware or craft store?

[vtmtnman]

No idea about the minwax stain bud...Anytime I've ever used minwax stain on wood shafts it took to it like a champ.Maybe you bought sealed shafts by mistake?

Krylon...works like a charm.Dipping is way to messy for me.

[Orion]

I use ebony minwax on a lot of my cedars.  It's possible your shafts are already sealed, as vtman says.  Or, you may have gotten your hands on some older ACME shafts, which were burnished much more than shafts currently produced by Rose City.  The stain doesn't take as well on highly burnished shafts. Did you mix the stain well?  If it's been sitting on the shelf for a while, it tends to settle out.

[Grey Taylor]

If the shafts are burnished it can inhibit the penetration of stain. Hit them with a light rubbing of 180 to 220 grit sandpaper and it will break the burnish.
For crown paint and no dip tube, consider the acrylic craft paints from a craft store. I apply them with a brush and get great results. I use the same paints for all my cresting. The color selection is second to none and they're easy to work with.

Guy

[jcar315]

As others have stated.

If you are looking to "crown dip" without all the tubes etc. try spray paint. Works well and lots of colors to pick from.

I like the looks of RIT dye mixed with alcohol to dye my shafts.

[frankwright]

I had an old Paul Bruner video on arrow making and he simply wiped the shafts with the color paint he to use. I tried it and did many wood shafts that way. I would use a pencil mark to separate the shaft and wipe one color for shaft and another for the crown. I just used cheap Wal-Mart Red Devil paint.
It colors the shaft nicely but still lets the grain show through. Just wipe it on with a rag, let it soak in for a minute and wipe off the excess. If you want it darker, allow it to dry a few hours and add more coats.

Let it dry 24 hours and then use the protective coating od choice.

[rraming]

I use aneline dyes and a few weeks ago did some crazy colors of blue and some red shafts - worked well and have never seen any shafts looking like them before.

[Spectre]

RIT dye is fun to use, too. Black gives the wood kind of a cool "stained" look.

[Squirrelbane]

Did you sand the shafts before you stained em by any chance? only reason I ask is because I've made that noobie mistake before. lol

[ThePushArchery]

Yes I did sand them. I think there were some burnished shafts in the bunch I got. I found another 5 decent shafts today, and gave it another whirl. The new shafts took the ebony stain very nicely. Pretty excited to get this batch done. Thanks everyone!

[Brently]

I use leather dye to color the shafts, it even works on burnished shafts, also even works on my hands,lol