i'll do the clear wipes on the unstained shafts first. put on yer rubber glove(s) a clean 2" to 3" square of 100% white cotton t-shirt, fold over to make a pad, shake the can of min-wax gloss wipe on polyu, pop the top and get the pad wet (not damp and not dripping wet), hold the shaft at where the pointed end will eventually be, wrap the pad a bit around the shaft and twist and wipe from the nock end on down.
you don't need to wipe right down to the very end of the shaft, unless you require a full 32" arrow. wipe to within 2" to 3" of the end of the shaft (for up to a 30" long arrow). hold the freshly wiped shaft by the nock end, push into the foam block for drying. i do this with just one glove for the wiping hand.
for the stained shafts - hold at the cap end, wipe the foreshaft first and
don't go beyond the masking tape! when done, push each shaft into the foam block. when all shafts have had their foreshafts wiped with clear, get a fresh new wiping pad, and clear wipe the cap area of the shaft while the shaft is held in the foam block. too easy! allow to dry for a few hours.
after the clear dries, *lightly* buff each shaft with 0000 steel wool -
use a separate piece of steel wool for each stain color! lightly rub each shaft with a paper towel -
use a separate towel for each stain color! 
do another clear coat wipe again, as in all of the above.
after the second wipe dries, for the stained shafts, remove the masking tape that separates the cap from the foreshaft. lightly steel wool buff the entire shaft, from nock end to point end - no need to be concerned about color bleeding - and lightly paper towel rub down. notice how the stain colors deepen and look more vibrant as more clear coats are applied. i loved stained arrows as opposed to opaque painted ones - i just prefer to see the natural wood grain.
do a third wiped on coat of clear.
three coats of min-wax clear is more than enuf to fully seal the shafts. i usually go for a fourth coat. your choice to either leave the last coat glossy or buff down with the steel wool and paper towel for a muted satin finish.
after i'm done with all four coats of clear, next up - glue on the nocks, cut the shafts to your proper draw length, taper for the points, add cresting using sharpie pens (optional). then on to fletching - we'll do all three flavors of fletches - store bought preshaped, chopped, and burnt - in both three and four fletch configurations. ALL fletches will be adhered with bohning fletch tape! then on to pointing up, checking for shaft/point trueness/straightness.
Topic: crafting excellent woodies the easy and cheap way (Read 5673 times)
