Quickest finish for woodies that will most likely be lost???

[ishiwannabe]

I am gonna make up some "throw away"- or shall I say, not gonna spend an hour looking for-woodies out of some shafts I have laying around. I have bohning supercoat, but dont want to fumigate the whole house, especially with the baby here now.
I was thinking oil or wipe on poly. Anything you guys have used that is quick, easy and fume free? I have some spare wraps so fletching em wont be an issue...
Thanks in advance.

[Jeremy]

Wipe on poly is quick, but a single coat really doesn't do much.

Shellac would be very quick and seal the wood well... not all that durable, but that's not what you're looking for.

Or, hit them with a coat of shellac, give it 30 mins to dry, then wipe on a coat of poly.  That'll give you a more durable topcoat while still filling the pores and sealing the wood... probably about the same protection as 4 coats of wipe on poly.

[ishiwannabe]

You know what these are for...    
I dont want to lose any good arrows, so I figured I would make some that are...expendable.
I was thinking wipe on poly and maybe some wood wax to finish em.

[john fletch]

I use industrial lacquer and Little Dipper tubes.  I dip about 1500 arrows a year, but the cost per arrow is low and the process fast.  For target or 'stump shooting' or even samll game and flu-flus I use a bright color (red/orange/yellow) full shaft dip.  For classics I use a clear lacquer, for custom I use a clear shaft with a crown color.

I coat does it - drys very fast.  Protects the wood and I use a high gloss lacquer so it is very attractive.

[vermonster13]

If they are 1 use arrows, why finish them at all? Taper the ends, install nocks and points, then fletch. Launch and lose. lol

[mdwatts]

I rag on tung oil.  No worries about the little ishi either.

[ishiwannabe]

Dave, have you seen the stuff ya go through over at Shawn's? They are liable to get submerged before I even shoot em.
Keep the ideas coming...this is getting good.

[vermonster13]

Ok, wipe them down with Thompson's water seal. Water proofs them, very cheap and it works well. If you lose one you don't have much effort in it so whoopee! lol

[No-sage]

Parafin wax. Comes out of 3D targets well too, even froze ones...

[Molson]

I'd dip them in Minwax waterbased poly.  One dip, wait 2-3 hrs and dip again.  Done, but plenty durable with no fumes.  Wait over night then fletch them up plain with Duco and save the wraps.

[SCATTERSHOT]

if you're gonna finsh 'em, why not just spray paint them with wallyworld spray paint? I'm not sure I'd even go to the trouble. You could rub paraffin on them, too, for a quick and dirty finish.

[Red Beastmaster]

String wax!

I stain (or not) the shafts, taper, fletch, then rub string wax on the shaft from fletching to the point end. Buff it out with a rag and you're done!

Not sealing the fletch end really doesn't matter much since it never gets dirty or driven into a target. If the wax wears off a bit just reapply, only takes a minute.

I stopped stinking up the house years ago after I discovered sealing with string wax. Stumpers, target, or hunting arrows all get the same wax sealant.

[talkingcabbage]

I usually use a Minwax spray polycrilic, but I wouldn't use it with the baby in the house.  It's not terrible smelling, but I wouldn't trust it around my little boy.  If you can jump outside and spray a coat real quick, that'd work.  It dries pretty fast, and one coat is prob. enough for what you're doing.

Although, if they're "expendable" arrows, why bother with a finish?  The squirrels and stumps don't care what they look like!

Joe

[Izzy]

Man Jamie have some confidence.Ifn you pin them bunnies to the ground youll find your arras right where you shot em at easily.LOL I have some unfinished pine arrows that take a good beating.Just sand smooth the area to be fletched if your using tape.  :p

[Bowspirit]

2 coats of wipe on polycrilic is all I use for my "throw away" arrows...

[Orion]

Got any bear grease lying around?  Actually, the waxes that folks have suggested will work, at least in the short term.  I think Vermonster is right on.  Either don't bother with a finish or go with a waterseal.

[ishiwannabe]

Thanks for all the input so far guys. A lot of good info, and some of it along the lines of what I was thinking. Some, even better.


Izzy, you have seen me shoot, right?  :rolleyes:  

I went through my stuff in the basement, and I have a bunch of poly, some finishing wax, and varnish. I think Im gonna steal some wax from my wife's salon and try the parrafin idea...
Unless something else comes up.

[JEFF B]

just rub em down with bees wax and polish there ya go done.

[Shawn Leonard]

Jamie, wipe on a couple coats of oil based poly with a lint free cloth. 3 coats and you will be good to go. I have done that and found them  a couple months later and they were still shootable. I dip mine 3 times and that is even better but not as quick. Shawn

[Guru]

Jamie, i think somebody said it already, a coat or two of water based Polycrylic. Low fumes,dries way quicker than reg poly, glue sticks real well to it,and it's real easy to work with....perfect for what you're looking for.

I've lost them in the winter and found them after snow melt and they were still in good shape...