finishing horn overlays

[LittleBen]

Hey everyone,

I put some buffalo horn tip overlays on my swap bow and I'm wondering what's the best way to finish it. Should I sand it down to a very fine grit? or use a scraper to get a shiny surface before putting on the finish?

I sanded down to 600 grit and they still looked pretty cloudy ... any thoughts?

[Roy from Pa]

320 sand paper. What's ya gonna use for a finish? I use tung oil but it won't stick to the horn so I just wipe it all off the horn when I wipe it off the rest of the bow.

[BenBow]

I've used a cloth buffing wheel on my hand drill and some white buffing compound and the horn gets as smooth and glossy as glass

[Roy from Pa]

Good idea BenBow.

[LittleBen]

Yeha I like that idea ... I was planning on using minwax wipe on poly. I think it will bond to horn, some polyurethanes will bond to proteins ... we'll see I guess.

[Zradix]

very interested to know how this works out for you.
I plan on using wipe on poly for my next bow.
I might use horn tips.

[Bowjunkie]

I sand down to 400 grit, then with 0000 steel wool. I spray with Thunderbird epoxy, so I don't have to worry about adhesion.

[LittleBen]

John, fellow engineer, I have used wipe on poly several times and I like it very much. I use the satin finish one and it comes out pretty nice. I accidentally got some mineral oil onto one bow after refinishing a cutting board, and it glossed up alot and that was nice too.

The wipe on poly is pretty fast drying, fairly durable, and I think really brings out the look of the wood.

[Zradix]

Thanks Ben.
I've used the wipe on on quite a few arrows.
The gloss is a bit harder  than the semi.
I like to put a few coats of gloss then a few coats of semi.

I used it on one bow before.
Worked well.
..to really get a more flat type finish I seal as above then take a can of Minwax clear satin poly to it.
I'll spray it from quite a distance.
Basically so the stuff is kinda starting to roll.
It gives a nice textured finish.

[J.F. Miller]

Originally posted by LittleBen:
Hey everyone,

I put some buffalo horn tip overlays on my swap bow and I'm wondering what's the best way to finish it. Should I sand it down to a very fine grit? or use a scraper to get a shiny surface before putting on the finish?

I sanded down to 600 grit and they still looked pretty cloudy ... any thoughts?

any type of finish you put on the horn will make the "cloudy" go away and it will be as black as sin. I never bother to sand beyond 220 grit on any part of a bow as it simply is not necessary if you raise the grain a few times and sand off with 220. I treat horn on my nocks the same as the wood it's glued to. I have never had any issue getting any type of urethane or epoxy to adhere to horn whether it was brushed on or sprayed.

[Zradix]

cool

[LittleBen]

J, thanks for the info. thats great!