Best wood arrow sealer?

[silent sniper]

Hey guys, I am getting ready to make up a set of woodies to use at Denton hill in a month. I have not had much experience with wood arrows, but I have made up quite a few carbons.

I have 65-70# surewoods which I plan to shoot out of my 55#@28" super K drawn to 29". I'm trying for a 30" arrow with 125-160 point weight.

Anyhow, What is the recommended arrow sealer?

 I can see there is gasket lacquer that is used with the gasket speed dip system from 3 Rivers.

 I also found Fletch-Lac dip sealer which would work with the Fletch-Lac Platinum glue that I like.

I have also seen recommendations for simply using wipe on poly.

I'm sure there are other sealers out there I am missing as well.

So all you wood arrow experts, what do you recommend?

 I would like to make up a really pretty set of arrows that I can take to Denton Hill and loose or break.       Cheers, SS.

[Pat B]

I've used Tru-Oil, water based poly and for my more primitive arrows I use pitch varnish. All with good results.

[dhaverstick]

I've used just about all of them at one time or another. Daly's ProFin is a favorite on this site but can be an expensive investment because you probably will have to have it shipped to you. It is tough, though, and is resistant to target burn. Another favorite is the Massey Finish which is a mixture of acetone and epoxy. It is also very tough but can be messy to apply.

I went through a period of using either spar urethane or spar varnish but switched to just plain old polyurethane after I had a batch of arrows where the sealer wouldn't harden properly. I also prefer the oil based finishes as opposed to the water based finishes.

I like to dip my shafts and let the excess run off as opposed to wiping the sealer on. I think I get a better coat this way but that's just me.

Darren

[Valkyrie]

Three wiped on coats of spar urethane thinned down 2/1 urethane to mineral spirits with 0000 steel wool in between coats. Dries fast and hard. Lasts forever.

[David Mitchell]

I like Minwax Helmsman spar urethane thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits as well but I dip the shafts and hang on a cord with clothes pins to dry.  About three coats normally with 0000 steel wool as Valkyrie suggested. I like the gloss spar urethane.

[silent sniper]

What do you guys use for fletch glue? I tried Spar on my last arrows and liked how durable it was but my feathers would not stick at all with either fletch-tite platinum or goattuff archery glue. Thanks, SS

[hart2hart]

Duco,Sanders NPV but I'm becoming a quick fan of Weldwood Contact Cement.Clean shaft,apply glue to
fletch out of a small Murine bottle,fletch momentarily..separate a few minutes..then replace.Slow but no waste and clean lines.
That's the only method of luck I've had aluminum lately,and pretty sure it would work for wood.
Check first to make sure cement/sealer is compatable though.
Mike

[macbow]

As recommended by my friend and arrow smith , Dan Novotny.
Polycrylic, I dip them. It is water based.

I use a good super glue for fleatching.

[Bud B.]

I mix this with low odor mineral spirits 50/50 for a tough finish that doesn't target burn. I usually dip three times with 0000 steel wool rubdown in between. A real slick glossy and durable finish. If you don't want glossy, just rub down after final dip.

Duco for gluing on fletching.

 

[David Mitchell]

I use Duco cement (green and yellow tube) to glue feathers on the spar urethane finish and never have an issue with adhesion.

[Gordon Jabben]

Gasket lacquer will pull easiest from 3D targets but poly or true-oil will give a more durable finish of the sealers I have tried.  Duco glue with both.

[Shootum Straight]

I use watco danish oil finish or tru-oil for my hunting arrows.  Gasket lacquer for my target arrows.  Duco works great on these finishes.

[Grey Taylor]

I used gasket lacquer for quite a few years until it suddenly developed cracking problems. Now I hear 3R has a "new and improved" gasket lacquer but I'm not sure if I trust them.
I'll be keeping an eye on this thread for ideas as I'd really like to get back to making arrows.

Guy

[WESTBROOK]

Minwax poly or spar urethane thinned with mineral spirits work the best of the readilly available finishes. I like Pro Fin the best of any...but can be tough to get for a reasonable price.

[Fletcher]

I'll second the oil base gloss polyurethane for a good shaft finish.  I thin it 3 or 4 to 1 with a good paint thinner and dip.  You can also wipe it on with great results and no need for a dip tube.  This coats are the secret to a tough finish.  The Minwax shown above is very good.

[V I Archer]

I built a soak tube for my shafts a while back.  Left them to soak in Watco Danish oil for a week, turned out pretty darn good.  I capped them with some red tremclad and fletched with superglue.

I have used the Massey finish in the past, darn tough but messy and I don't like working with acetone so much.

[Green]

Grey - I'm on my second quart of the reformulated GL.  Haven't had any cracking/crazing.  The first arrows I dipped with them were done early February, and have been shot heavily ever since.  I'm a fan.

[Tajue17]

Originally posted by macbow:
[QB] As recommended by my friend and arrow smith , Dan Novotny.
Polycrylic, I dip them. It is water based.


this stuff is great,,all I use now!

[monterey]

I use min wax wipe on water based poly.  Have also used the oil based wipe on but since my cresting is all done with water based acrylics the water poly is now the go to.  Duco or platinum, shichever is on sale!  

[LBR]

I use an epoxy finish.  Most durable finish I've used.  Cheap, easy, and no problem getting everything you need from a Wal Mart or hardware store...including glue and cresting paint.