What has everyone found in terms of finishes that have the least target burn?
I have tried polyurathane(worst by far),minwax tung(all rubs off and water damage), minwax spar urathane(oil), varathane outdoors oil based and water, varathane proffesional gloss(oil) and bulls eye shellac.
As of now im finding spar urathane is my best bet.
Apparently Daly's Profin is supposed to work very good on arrows minimum target burn from what I hear.
I don't normally get target burn...may be that I don't shoot at a "rubber" target with field points....more of a stuffed bag type target.
I do shoot at a layered "rubber foam" target with my broadheads now and then.
I've found a little buffed car wax on the front third of the arrow seems to help with arrow removal and seems to help with keeping the arrow finish nice.
Bohning fletch lac works pretty good for me. It's been around for ages.
after finish is fully cured put a good coat of car wax on your arrows .
I use gasket lacquer with no burn.
Only thing I have found that works for me is Pure Tung Oil. I have used all of the above at one time or another plus a couple not mentioned yet. One was so bad I had pieces of straw bale stuck to my shafts. Only downside to the Tung Oil is having to apply a coat once in awhile.
By far my worst experience has been with MinWax waterbased polycrillic. I have to use 0000 steelwool and car wax to remove the stuck on gunk from carpet and foam targets I shoot. Oh yes, I have used various wax products over the finishes mentioned but that only helps for a couple of shots. I have even used the bar soap trick.
Only shafts I have not had an issue with are those cold aluminums.
Some targets are worse than others. I don't shoot real heavy weight, but I have a long draw and my arrows tend to be fat. They get deep penetration in foam targets, and the more rubbery ones really stick making arrows very difficult to pull.
A friend provided a slick solution to that problem. About 6" 3/4" pvc tube with caps, roll up something absorbent (I used automotive carpet) to slide inside the tube. Drill a hole in one of the caps slightly bigger than your arrow/point combo. Squirt Armor-all or similar into the tube. Wipe arrows before shooting them into foam targets. Easy peasy.
I have pretty good luck with gasket lacquer. It is rare that I have target burn. Rare, but it still happens from time to time.
I use Minwax wipe on poly and then periodically buff the shafts with BriWax (beeswax/carnuba). Paste wax burned (and the straw melted into it from bales). Not so with the BriWax.
I shoot into compressed celotex bales at our club and they make a mess of wooden shafts. The only thing that I have used that doesn't stick and doesn't give much target burn is Bohnings Super coat.
When I was making custom arrows I used high gloss Minwax solvent base poly, thinned about 2:1 or 3:1 with paint thinner. Always got inquiries about the finish...tough, durable and no target burn issues.
Sorry...I'm not sure why this one got moved...its NOT about shooting..its about arrows.
Carry on....
Rub your arrow with bar soap the last 5" from the point.Makes pulling arrows much easier.
I use Armor-all works good, tung oil is a poor finish for arrows or bows its not water proof enough its more for furniture .
I should say armor-all over Zar poly . Not Armor-all alone as a finish .
Used tung before, very wet environment over here and they became water damaged.
Tung oil is water repellent, not waterproof.
its been a while since I have made any wood arrows but thinking about getting back into it.
back in the day I had good success with multiple dips of polycrylic.
I would typically do 3-4 dips while steel wooling between each one. on the last coat I would just brush off the glare with steel wool..
Other woody experts may have something better but that was the best thing I found in terms of wear and tear back them.
I am currently using minwax spar urathane thinned 50/50 with paint thinner, Likeing the results so far.
Anyone tried tru oil?
Snapped a couple pics of my arrow wiper...
(http://i.imgur.com/L8umC66.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/kZDYN2u.jpg)
I dip my wood shafts in a 50/50 mix of Minwax oil poly gloss, not the wipe on stuff, and low odor mineral spirits. Dip twice, then steel wool rubdown, then one more dip.
Not one bit of target burn problem.
Epoxy!
I have used dalys for a long time now, it burns! But i like it, since developing a epoxy sensitivity.
Gl would be a close second to epoxy, if it wouldnt crack! It does not do well in my environment!
Theres no such thing as waterproof finishes. Only vary degrees of water resistant. Some do much better than others obviously! That said epoxy comes pretty close! It has by far out lived all my other concoctions over the years.
Gasket Lacquer also
Thinned minwax oil based poly or Daly's pro-fin both work well for me. Daly's is hard to get here, so I use the minwax.
Eclipse makes a field point called a Chubby Bunny that has a "waist" that is larger diameter than the arrow shaft. Limits penetration in foam and seems to open the hole just enough to protect the finish. Only 125 and 145 grain weights, though.
Lacquer
QuoteOriginally posted by paradocs:
Eclipse makes a field point called a Chubby Bunny that has a "waist" that is larger diameter than the arrow shaft. Limits penetration in foam and seems to open the hole just enough to protect the finish. Only 125 and 145 grain weights, though.
For those with aluminum or carbon arrows that stick, Goldtip's EZ Pull points look like they do the same thing. Haven't tried them myself, I use Saunders combo points in heavier weights than the EZ Pull points.
https://www.goldtip.com/Components/Points/EZ-Pull-Point-246.aspx