Finish on bows.

[Jeff Freeman]

This is what a friend of mine out in Olympia Washington suggested. Works great. Little more expensive but it works great. Then you can put whatever scheen you want on top of this once it's all filled and sanded

[Mike L.]

Cool, thank you.  Are you from the Olympia area?  I live in Tacoma.  First time (and last) time living in a city, 

[Jeff Freeman]

I'm  in Iowa. I've visited the northwest.

[Mike L.]

Yeah, after I posted that I noticed it says Iowa under your name.  Lol. Is the important part of the epoxy base coat that it’s low viscosity/high penetrating?  I was looking online for MAS epoxy.  I’m going to give it a try on my next finish.  I’ve got a bunch of bows I made that are just waiting for the finish coat, and I’ve got a couple I sprayed without a base coat.  love the way the Krystal finish comes out, but it seems like it might be even better with a sealer under the spray.

[Jeff Freeman]

You will like it. Measure it out. Apply with a gray foam brush. After one coat sets and is just a little sticky like tape, mix up another batch and put on the next coat. 4-7 coats, pending on the wood.

[Crooked Stic]

You do want some kind of base coat under Krystal. It is real easy to spray but not the best filler. And if not base coated will shrink into pores over time.
Is the MAS stuff different from finishing epoxy.?

[Jeff Freeman]

Yes it is for sealing. Plus it is very clear. It doesn't get milky with multiple coats, which is perfect for sealing. You can spray a satin or gloss finish on and it will look great.

[Mike L.]

I’m looking for a comparable product now. There’s a penetrating wood hardener/sealer epoxy that’s sold as a marine product for repairing rotting wood on boats.  That stuff seems about right.  There’s also a west systems 105 resin that has several options for hardener, one of which is clear, but it’s over $2 an ounce.  I wonder if the type of epoxy resin used for the river tables and such might work?  I think it can be thinned.  How long does your stuff take to get tacky? 

[Mike L.]

Do you use it on the limb edges as well?

[Jeff Freeman]

I use it on All the exposed wood. Usually I put on another coat in 30-45 minutes. Note definitely measure. That's why I use syringes. 1 for A and 1 for B
 You won't have 20 minutes to brush on, using the fast hardener. It doesn't take long to coat a bow.
 I learned all about this marine epoxy from Richard Korte from Olympia Washington

[Flem]

Mike L. you have a Smooth-On distributor nearby in Kent, Reynolds Advanced Materials. You can get Epoxamite with three different hardeners and an epoxy specific thinner to make a surface coating. I'm not sure why some epoxy's are considered "marine grade"
if you compare specs of a marine and non-marine epoxy, there does not seem to be any difference. All epoxy is waterproof and none is UV resistant without additives.

Another alternative for pore filling is shellac. A 2#or 3# cut of dewaxed will fill and add a nice luster and depth, that is lacking in most grain fillers. It can also be used a a toner for subtle color shifts.

[Mike L.]

I wonder if you can spray Krystal clear coat on top of shellac? I think I saw somewhere that shellac works well under oil based and water borne finishes.  I guess as long as it doesn’t melt off when it rains, it should be good.  I’m looking forward to comparing one that’s got a sanding sealer on it to one that doesn’t.  The finish coat was a huge improvement even without it. 

[Flem]

I use de-waxed shellac under conversion varnish all the time. Its a universal sealer and bridge coat.
Works under and over, solvent, water, lacquer, epoxy, you name it.

[Mike L.]

I’ll have to do some googling, cause I don’t know if the shellac I have on hand has any wax in it.  I didn’t think so, but I don’t know for sure.  I got it for a cutting board, but ended up going down the tung oil/beeswax/mineral oil rabbit hole, and I’ve been chasing the perfect beeswax finish since.  I’ve got one big cutting board that I’ve stripped and refinished no fewer than 5 times. 

[Mike L.]

I hope this epoxy is all it’s cracked up to be, cause if I knew I could have used shellac I wouldn’t have shelled out $100. 

[Crooked Stic]

I think the Bullseye SealCoat is what you want.

[Buemaker]

The use of hide glue sizes in the finishing of quality furniture surfaces is not commonly known by the public at large. In this process a dilute warm hide glue solution at approximately one pound of glue per gallon of water is applied to the wood surface and let dry. The compression grain is raised and the glue fills the porous exposed wood structure. On sanding a glass-like surface is obtained which is stable against moisture changes and which takes a lasting final stain or finish.
This is according to instructions by Bjorn Thordahl who is probably the one who knows the most about hide glue in America.

[Mad Max]

You need to use Shellac on these wood before using a oil base finish

This is from the wood data base
Shellac sticks to everything, and everything sticks to shellac.
https://www.wood-database.com/finishing-exotic-tropical-hardwoods/
Below is a non-exhaustive list of woods that have heartwood extractives that tend to interfere with the curing process of oil-based finishes.

Blackwood, African
Bloodwood
Bocote
Cedar, Eastern Red
Cocobolo
Cumaru
Ebony
Goncalo Alves
Ipe
Katalox
Kingwood
Lignum Vitae
Macacauba
Padauk
Pau Ferro
Purpleheart
Rosewoods
Teak
Tulipwood
Verawood
Ziricote

[Stagmitis]

It takes FOREVER but I use a high quality oil spar varnish finish-And like Mike L i went down the rabbit hole when I made my own years ago Lol-

First couple coats are thinned 50/50 with Naptha to seal the wood then full strength to build up-Lots of wet sanding and time but the finish is durable and lasts for years. Maybe Ill try shellac or hide glue for the initial buildup? time is my enemy 

I have always worried about some of the conversion varnishes, automotive finishes being too hard and unflexible and eventually cracking,peeling-Remember the old fullerplast?

[Mad Max]

I have some Shellac flakes and some Everclear 190 proof, you can drink the Everclear and dissolve the flakes too