gasket laquer a complete and utter....

[madness522]

FAILURE!  Help.  I bought a can of gasket laquer in hopes of making my arrows have a better finish.  I didn't know what to expect maybe something the consistency of poly or shellac.  But this stuff has the consistency of honey.  No problem I thought.  I poured it into the dip tube and said what the heck lets try it.  

A little back ground. I asked several folks at various shoots that use how that used it.  The most common answer was to just pour and dip with no thinning.  They all said they used water based cresting paint and they had really beautiful arrows.

Was not thinning it a mistake?  

The failure part was that all the cresting I did was washed off and left puddled up in the dip tube.  This isn't good!  

I know it has been very hot here so I didn't leave the can in the garage I brought in the house and left it there until today.

How do I use this stuff and what cresting paint won't wipe off?  One other question...If I do need to thin it (and I assume I will since it is as think as snot) how?  There isn't room in the can to add acetone nor is there room in the dip tube to properly mix it. How?

Thanks in advance for the great answers!

[rabbitman]

You need the rubber gasket with small holes that fits in the lid of the dip tube.  You pull the shaft through one of the holes for as many coats of laquer that you want.

[madness522]

rabbitman, I have the gasket and it worked so well that it took off my cresting....

[rabbitman]

Never tried to put it on over cresting.  From your original post it sounded like you were dipping shafts without the gasket.  The laquer is suppose to be "thick as snot."  I usually crest with enamel model paint after dipping.

[flint kemper]

madness 522, the cresting paint has to be super dry. maybe a weeks worth depending on the humidity. Also use a gasket hole that is well worn as it will not put as much pressure on the cresting. another tip is to take a spray can of poly and hit the cresting lightly let dry a few days and then dip in the gasket lacquer again. Trial and error my friend. also go to the hardware store and get some cheap dowels to stretch the gasket and also try different paints on them to check for compatibility and then keep a journal as to what works and what doesn't. That way two or more years from now you will remember. Hope this helps. Flint

[zilla]

I have put it over cresting and if you do not use the right paint it will pull it off.. Bohning cresting laquers will stay on but let them dry for at least 24 hrs first.. I tried Testors model paint and it comes off.. Also, I heat my laquer up because it seems to go on better.. I open the oven turn it on and keep the oven door open a bit so the heat comes out the top.. I hold the laquer tube with laquer in the heat till I think it is warm enough.

[Adam Keiper]

Were you using acrylic paints?  They won't dissolve in the laquer, though some very, very slight bleeding may occur.  Enamels and oil will dissolve.  

Gasket laquer is about the consistency of honey, hence the need for the gasket to squeegie it off.

[madness522]

I was using acrylic paint for the cresting.  I let it dry in the hot garage for maybe an hour before I dipped the first one and the crest wipped off.  Should I have sprayed the crest with poly before I dipped it?  I bought the acrylic paint because it was suggested on here for use under gasket laquer.  It was testors model paint.  I do have some 23/64 shafts so I'll spend time running them thru the hole and hopefully that will help wear it in.

[hill boy]

It is possible for it to get to thick if it has been sitting in the dip tube for a long period of time.It can actually evaporoate through the tube.If so just add thinner and maby more laquer.Good luck

[Whip]

The solution to your problem is to coat the cresting with a couple coats of water based polyurathane prior to dipping. Then let dry for a few days, then dip.
I've been there and done that, and had to learn the hard way too  

[Adam Keiper]

Ah! Testor's isn't water based acrylic.  It's an oil enamel, which will dissolve in laquer and acetone.  (At least the micro bottles of model airplane paint that they make are.)  As whip said, if you want to use the Testor's, you have to seal it with a couple coats of water based polyurethane finish before dipping in the gasket laquer.

Or, just use the Apple Barrel (or equivalent) brand of acrylic paints like you find in craft stores or Wally Worlds.  They come in plastic bottles that are about the size of a spice jar and cost a buck to two.  Those are water based acrylic and won't dissolve.

Also, even though the acrylic paint seems dry after 5 minutes, let it dry 24 hours before you dip.  Another tip is to dip the bare shafts twice in gasket laquer and then crest.  The gasket laquer will provide a smoother surface for cresting than the raw wood, and will let you produce cleaner lines.  Then make subsuequent dips right over your crest.

Here are some arrows I just made in recent weeks using alcohol dyes for the cap and crown, acrylic paints for the crest, and gasket laquer for the finish.  The dye bled a little in the dip tube, but not enough to affect the finish.  
   

[zilla]

I love those feathers.. I am gathering up stuff to make another dozen Sitka Spruce arrows, but want that banana feather look.. Unfortunatly I cannot find those style feathers.  I assume you cut them with a chopper..

[Killdeer]

They look like they were done with a burner. Beautiful arrows!

Killdeer

[Steve P]

They look burnt to me too. Agree with Killdeer, beautiful.


Steve

[Wile E. Coyote]

Acrylic craft paint from your local Wally World. You should also chuck one of your shafts in a drill and spin it in one of the gasket holes (minus the laquer) to make the hole slightly larger so as to not have such a tight grip on the shafts.

[zilla]

Ok burnt...  But is the banana style available for purchase anywhere?  All I ever see in the shops is parabolic and shield.

[Larry Yien]

I've been using the gasket lacquer system for quite a few years, plus some.  I use the testor's paints for cresting and let them dry overnight.  I do a light coat of diamond finish over it which is a waterbase poly.  The waterbase drys pretty quick  I'll usually give it a few hours to set on a warm day.

Then I do the gasket lacquer, it's thick like honey and I don't enlarge the holes.  I prefer them brand spankin new.

[madness522]

I have both enamel and arcylic Testors model paints and was using the arcylic under the laquer.  Did I now let it dry long enough before dipping?  I can try dipping another one this evening.  Or should I have used the enamel under the laquer and let it too dry overnight?