Automotive bow finish

[hunting badger]

If any of you guys have used or use Automotive finishes for your bows I would sure like to hear what you use and your methods for application. I used to get all my finishing supplies from Big Jim but he has discontinued carrying finishes. Living in Alaska it has been extremely hard to obtain finish material due to shipping issues, so i've decided to go the automotive route as I know I will be able to get it indefinitely. Any help would be appreciated so I don't have to start from square one.

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

Duplicolor Matte Wheel paint in a rattle can from the auto parts store. None of the other Duplicolor stuff works well.

A good 2K auto clear coat if you like it glossy. Then follow it with catalyzed Krystal Satin if you like it less glossy. The last 2 are for a more "professional " finish.

[Buggs]

What Hillbilly said. You can find inexpensive auto clears at a lot of parts stores. U-Pol, SprayMax, and some others are sold everywhere. Hopefully in Alaska too!

[Mad Max]

The Duplicolor and VHT MATTE wheel paint are the same , and it lays down awesome.
Glossy does not

[kennym]

The Dupli automotive clearcoat lays down nice for me...?  The matte doesn't seal up as well so I do several coats of gloss, then a couple of matte.

The glass doesn't need all the coats like the wood does...

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

I have found the clear to be gummy to sand.

[Buggs]

I looked, you are not far from Anchorage. Should be able to get a few different brands of conversion varnish or auto clear in a city that size.

[hunting badger]

Thanks guys!!!

[mmattockx]

For the guys using the VHT/Duplicolor matte clear, how does it go on over an all wood bow? Are you using anything as a sealer or base coat before the clear?


Mark

[Mad Max]

Soft woods will suck it up, some of the Spectraply woods.
You always need to fill the grain, I use ca glue.
The matte wheel paint lays down really nice

[Shredd]

I am away from home right now so I can't give you any name brands of finishes... I think most of them are pretty similar..  I like using automotive finishes because they dry quick for multiple coats and to sand if need be...    I will share this with you... 

   I am not sure about all 2 part clear automobile finishes but the ones I have used get hairline cracks in them after about a year of use...   Seems they are too hard, brittle and stiff to handle the flex of the limbs...  After talking to some paint experts I was told to use an additive which aids in adhesion and softens the finish, making it more flexible...  So far I have not had any issues...  ( A chick clued me in on this)  See...  Some girls do know their chit...   

Here is the additive I use... I use about half of what is recommended...

http://kleanstripauto.com/products/bulldog-adhesion-promoter

[Crooked Stic]

The most no brainer stuff I have ever sprayed is  Krystal. But you need to use some type of sealer first on the wood.  I use lacquer for a sealer the brush on kind in gloss and thin it about 50 percent so it will spray. About three coats. Then steel wool it.  Depending on your wood how coats of Krystal to level it. As of late I been doing maybe two wet coats on the wood. Then turn the pressure way down stand back t least12 in. And spatter on coats for a matte finish. And it is still affordable.

[hunting badger]

Krystal was one of the finishes I was using, I was getting it from Big Jim's but he quit carrying it. I agree it is a great finish but there are no dealers in Alaska which leaves me high and dry! That's the one reason I'm looking at Auto finishes so hopefully if I find one that works for me I won't have a supply issue. A lot of things you can get in the lower 48 we can't get up here!

[Buggs]

I was doing random searches for national brand conversion varnish distributors in Anchorage.
I got nothing!  I don't blame you for going automotive. Other than the potential problem mentioned by Shredd, 2k auto clears are bomb proof. They put the stuff on the most expensive disposable items most of us will ever buy and it has to hold up outside, in all kinds of weather while being pelted by buggs and sand at 70mph.

[Jeff tech]

I was a fan of Big Jim's Buffalo epoxy. I used the gloss for my final finish over Mas epoxy for my filler coat. I contacted Big Jim and he told me to go with Thunderbird It was the same thing. So now I will be using Thunderbird and or getting some to see if it works out for my last coat before I do my setting or gloss finish. JF

[Kirkll]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vmNSYznhtTXSpsTFA

Good stuff… cost effective and user friendly.  This stuff won’t yellow out like epoxy clear coats either. It stays clear in UV rays.  Kirk

[hunting badger]

Kirk, where did you purchase that finish ? Looks like what I'm looking for.

[Crooked Stic]

Yeah been wanting to try that stuff not found it around here.

[Jeff tech]

If I remember right. The clear Kirk posted is sold by auto body paint and supplies. Some stores carry it as a cheaper alternative. JF

[Kirkll]

If I remember right. The clear Kirk posted is sold by auto body paint and supplies. Some stores carry it as a cheaper alternative. JF

Yes… I buy it at a local auto paint supply dealer, and yes it is pretty cost effective compared to a lot of auto clear coating I’ve used. I had a professional auto painter tell me to try it. He said he’d sprayed hundreds of gallons of it, and found it great in conditions where you didn’t have a dust free spray booth to work in.  I’ve been using it for years myself, and it’s user friendly with no reducer. It’s less than half the cost of T Bird material, and a lot better quality, and much easier to use.

The company who makes it is in Tacoma Washington I believe. It’s called pro line products.

https://prolineperformanceproducts.com/product/euroclear-41-clear/

   Kirk