Advice on finish

[LESKEN2011]

I have made quite a few bows with natural materials and have finished them with many different materials including shellac, waterbased poly, deft laquer, etc. After receiving such a nice bow from BeachBowhunter, I decided to enlist the help of JamesV to make my first glass bow for my recipient. It turned out really  well and for the last week or 10 days I have been working on the finish. James has had good luck with rub on poly, but for some reason, I just can't get it to turn out very good. Since I wasn't really sure which alternative was the best for the "glass" I decided to use spar urethane for the uv protection to keep the white glass from yellowing. I had a couple of coats on it, got it signed, and was going to put one more coat of gloss on it before the final coat of satin. Then I spotted a run. It went downhill from there. I sanded the trouble spot out and recoated, but have not been able to get a slick finish. I am tempted to sand the whole thing down and start over with something else, but the 13th is coming up fast and I don't want to miss the deadline. The instructions on the spar say to let cure for 72 hrs. I guess I just want some feedback on a good, durable, quick finish to try from some of you with much more experience than me.

[beachbowhunter]

Finishing, for me at least, has been one of the most difficult parts of bowmaking. Until I started using T-Bird (Buffalo Hide) and a compressor, I really struggled. I wish I could be of some help.

The only can spray that I have had luck with is Deft.I have used it on knife handles and it really holds up. Of course, the old adage of multiple thin coats applies.

Did you get the template I sent ya?

[LESKEN2011]

Thanks, Norbert. Yes I did. I thought I replied to your email. Sorry if I didn't. I just picked up the prints on your take down limb profile and the ones Kenny was so kind to provide. That gives me a good starting point along with the info JamesV has been providing.

I used deft on the first bow I made with some success. I forget how quickly it dried which made multiples coats much easier. I don't think I can put the lacquer over the oil, though unless I take it all off. I may sand out the rough spots and try tru oil over it. Do you think it would work ok on the glass?

[beachbowhunter]

I've never used True Oil so I can't help you there. Because glass is non porous, I'm not sure a penetrating finish like True Oil would work.

[Todd Cook]

I use the spar urethane and really like it. The trick is thin coats. Also, to much humidity is not good. I spray outside and then carefully bring it inside to dry.

[LESKEN2011]

That may be the problem, Todd. Down here in the south the humidity is way up and I hang my bows in the garage. My wife is not too keen on them being in the house. I think I am going to sand it down and go back with a clear lacquer due to time constraints.

[bigbob2]

I am currently using marine spar varnish as I too have been having a lot of trouble with finishes. I bought an airless sprayer, and thinning the varnish at 10% with turpentine and just using a mist coat am finally getting a great finish at last.Got a few runs to begin with but now with misting its going on well./the sprayer was around $50 Aus.Should have couple shots of my new'curve in couple of days once i get some more coats on. Only down side might be it is very glossy so would be a problem in the field out hunting.

[Ranger44]

I just used a can of spar urethane for the first time and had pretty good luck with multiple thin coats.  I did it outside but had the luxury of perfect weather and it dried well enough between coats that I could do them relatively quickly.  

I brought it in the house to cure and gave it a few days.  I brought it to a friend's to show him and after 3 days of curing I could still smell it after it was in the truck.

[Robertfishes]

I use minwax spar urethane too. I also live in a high humidity area. I was able to buy a good dehumidifier for $30 at a yard sale. I have a 6 x12 room in my shop where i glue up and spray finish bows.. I turn it on a couple of hours before spraying and leave it on for about 24 hours with bow hanging. When I do a spot repair I usually bring the bow inside my  air conditioned house. If I have a run I wait 2 weeks for the spar to cure before sanding..one time I only waited 3 days and I made a mess..

[BigJim]

If I were to use anything other than Buffalo hide, it would be Krystal. It is very durable compaired to poly and urethane and very..very..very easy to apply.
Spray on a coat and let dry. It can be sanded about an hour and re coated...maybe a little longer in high humidity or lower temps. It is very easy to get it to lay down and can be stacked in as little as 4 hours.
In the past, it could be difficult to get and only available in gallons. We brake it down to as little as pints....or quarts and we do ship it all over. I would suggest a quart kit of gloss and a pint kit of dull as you should only need one coat of the dull.

With Krystal, you can go from start to finish in as little as 3 hours depending on how many coats you apply. I would wait until the following day to string however....just as a precaution.

Buffalo hide epoxy is superior in grain filling, durability and overall protection, but not for everybody as it is time consuming (3 days at least) and a little more time consuming...plus will stay taky for at least an 1 1/2 hours requiring a dust free environment for longer.
bigjim

[LESKEN2011]

With Krystal, you can go from start to finish in as little as 3 hours depending on how many coats you apply. I would wait until the following day to string however....just as a precaution.  

If I go with one of the touch up sprayers that was recommended on another post, what size compressor do I need? Do you think I can get away with one of the 1/3 hp 3 gal ones?

[soy]

I have used only tru oil on my glass and have not had a problem  

[LESKEN2011]

OK, guys, before you start laughing, I was desperate. Frustrated with the results of several finishes I tried on my trade bow, I decided to try something. Impressed by Al Dean's recent take-down post and his epoxy finish, I figured, What could I lose? Since I did not have an air compressor and paint gun, I ran down to the local big box store and picked up a couple of preval sprayers. They did not have the devcon 2 ton epoxy, so I figured I would use the gorilla brand. I mixed it with acetone per the instructions and sprayed it on. I don't know if it was the mixture of previous finishes on the bow, but it just beaded up on the surface. I foam brushed it in the best I could and let it dry. It was really hard this morning, but very rough. I think I will sand the whole thing down this afternoon and start over with tru oil which I have used before since Soy says it works on glass.

[beachbowhunter]

Finishing is a huge pain!!  I tried a Preval and could only get a gunky orange peel finish. Keep trying, I'm sure you will get it the way you want it!

[canopyboy]

Tru-oil cracks on the back of my glass bows. On clear glass, you can only see it looking really close in the sunlight, but they go across the bow at 90 degrees and are only within the finish thickness. On black glass, it's much more apparent.

I'm thinking of giving Krystal a try... Should work great on my furniture projects as well.

[soy]

I have not noticed that on mine....I will definitely check into that  

[talkingcabbage]

Best finish I've used and only use now is two to three coats of minwax antique oil finish on the wood only, then three or four coats of minwax spray polyurethane in the rattle cans.  Then finish with a couple coats of paste wax.  You need to wait a couple days in between the oil and the poly and sand with 320 grit in between, but its simple and durable.

[LESKEN2011]

Well, I took off the old finish last night. I had made up my mind to order some of Big Jim's Krystal and try that. While sanding the old finish off I accidentally sanded down into the fiberglass. I can not believe I ruined this bow at this stage. That is what happens when you get in a rush. Well thanks for all your help anyway, guys. This has really been a learning experience. I will glue up another this weekend.

[canopyboy]

Wait, how far into the glass did you go? You can sand glass without hurting the bow, it's one way to drop weight - especially on the belly side. Did you go way deep in one spot? Is it really ruined? I guess if it is, you can still keep using it to work out your finish methods, right?

[LESKEN2011]

Well, as I was sanding I noticed these little islands of what I thought was finish I was trying to get out. With all the white powder from the sanding I couldn't tell, so I cleaned the bow with alcohol and realized the "islands" were not finish but areas of fiberglass weave. I strung the bow and it looks in tiller at brace then put the bow on the tiller tree and it is 10 lbs lighter but still in tiller. If I am able to salvage it, it will not be good enough for my recipient.