Arrow Builders: Gasket Lacquer & Carbon Shafts

[jcar315]

I have used gasket lacquer many times but I am new to carbon shafts and was wondering if there were any "tips" to speed up the learing curve when using gasket lacquer and carbon shafts together.

Any tips on helping the GL "hold up" once applied?

Looking for any experiences you might have with these two.

Thanks for your help.

[Jim Wright]

Don't go there! Clean your carbons per manufacturers suggestions, fletch them with the proper adhesive or fletching tape and shoot them.

[Scott Teaschner]

I have built plenty of wood arrows in my time and used the clear gasket laquer for the final coat sealent. It works great for that application. I am assuming with carbons you are talking crown dipping. I know GL comes in colors but I dont think it would be the best application. I shot carbons exclusivly now and I love to cap and crest my arrows. In the 90,s I did dip arrows in the Bohning products but it was very time consuming. I use Onestringers wraps they are awesome. He has more options than any other wrap out there. I get the color I want then crest with acrylic paints. After they dry I use what he calls his double dog wrap a clear wrap that protects the whole shebang! Its very durable and when you go to refletch easier to clean up that laquers. I just boil water put in a tall conatiner stick the arrow in and it losens the addhesive and peel it off. Then clean up with denatured alcohol and start all over. Check Onstringer out. Leave the GL for woods and wrap your carbons you wont be disapointed I promise.

[Tree Rat]

You don't need to go with wraps for carbon. Krylon works great and gives the same type finish as a dipped arrow in minutes. Then you can crest as normal and clear coat with a spray bomb too.

I have a build a long planned for this method but I just haven't squeezed out the time.

[Scott Teaschner]

I just dont beleave the time of spraying and mess producess a result that is better or worth the extra effort. Wraps are simple clean and when you need to refletch much easier to deal with. Just my oppinion!

[Huntschool]

There are those of us who like to "mess" with stuff.  I spray caps and crowns (lets me do longer and more varried than wraps) and crest etc and then use the spray on water based poly...  works great and looks good...

I don't think ya want to use GL....

[coltar]

I really like the wraps for carbon arrows myself.

[Doc Nock]

Jim,

I'm curious of your admonishment to "not go there?"  What was your negative experience?

I have some of the original gasket lacquer that stinks to high heaven but dries instantly.

I bought some neopreme tapered "plugs" for carbons by mail order and put them in so the GL doesn't go up inside...dip in clear gasket lacquer. Switch the plugs to the other end, and dip the other direction. I full length coated them all- 3-4 coats and THEN cut to length.

(I also cut half of what I want removed from each end...use the less straight, cheaper Carbons and I'm told by sales reps the diff in "run out" is on the ends, so I remove "1/2" from each end to help improve over all straightness)

I clean shafts first, yes, but the reason I do it was 2-fold.

One, our woodies pulled with this type GL from foam so much easier than ANY other finish...so I figured when I switched to carbon, it would help the arrows pull better. It does.

Second, I did it to add a tiny bit of weight.  :rolleyes:  

Third, the original GT's I messed with would leave carbon marks on your hands when pulling and I disliked that black grunge, so by dipping in GL, it went away.

No real advantages, except that it did seem to make them easier to pull from stubborn foam critters!

Huntschool, our Sponsor One Stringer will make wraps the length you want... I use their wraps now instead of crown dipping with white GL over/under the full length dip.

I like em longer so I can see them better as I age, and they'll make em as long as I used to dip them.

Just FYI...  

[Benjy]

Wraps are the easiest. But I still like to dip and crest my carbons. I clean the shaft, sand with 320 grit sandpaper, reclean and dip. I let them dry overnight and then crest. I have only been using the Bohning products with good results. Just finished cresting some a few minutes ago for a TG friend    

Benjy

[Jim Wright]

Dave, to be honest I thought the original post implied gasket lacquer full length and I was thinking about it soon coming off the point end after being pulled from the target a few times. From your experience my assumption of that happening is just that and I stand corrected.
 I do use gasket lacquer on my wood arrows and love it and have found it even slicker with an occasinal cleaning and an application of Minwax paste finishing wax.

[Doc Nock]

Jim,

Thanks! I too thought he was talking full length which is what I've done for quite a while.

What I've learned about the term GL is that is just that...a moniker. Sure isn't descriptive.

First stuff I heard about, the guy had 2 cats and a dog and wrote me he did it in the living room watchin TV and would lay them on the carpet floor amids the critter fuzz...!    :eek:  

Whatever he was using, wasn't what I got from some old crusty guy off the ole LW from out West...who claimed his was a proprietary formula, blah, blah, blah...but I'd no more use that high ester product in the house than vote for Hillary or Obama!    

That'll make you seriously brain defiencent in a hurry! (Or type/spell badly)

I now buy mine from a vendor at Baltimore, jerry dewese, who sets up the vendor program for BBTC.

His stinks too, but there have been so many of the GL type products on the market...

Mine thins with real lacquer thinner. Leaving it in the dip tube, the solvent dries out some so periodically, I have to re-add solvent and flip tube back and forth to mix and get it thin enough again to use...been doing it for oh...same tube for probably 8-9 yrs!    

I told the poster who started this in a PM, only thing I do is wipe down with alcohol a bit, put in t he neopreme plugs and dip.

I did loose one under the grass once...for about a week...and found it...and it was all "mottled" and spotted white and reticulated. Very cool effect. Lasted forever! Never had any peel that I recall!

Just always open to learning and wanted to understand what experience you had... no crown dipping with white acrylic quick dry paint.. no matter what I did to clean, I'd always get a pin hole when it drained off. Then tried white GL in a short tube and it worked slick...but still prefer wraps now to easily remove feathers...but wraps weigh more