Need Help with arrow finish

[Caleb the bow breaker]

Okay everyone,

So have recently started making and shooting wooden arrows but the fisnishing process is giving me fits.  I have tried to research it on my own with little satisfaction.  So I thought I would just ask.  Here is my question what are people using to finish arrows from start to finish and what is wrong with my process?  I have been using ash arrows, stained with minwax oil stain, 3 coats minwax rub on poly, krylon spray cap, 1 coat poly, and duco to glue feathers.  I have had crappy fletching retention and the cap does not seem to stick well.  I assume that spray paint is not compatible with poly but my patience is running thin.  My goal is to find an effective finish that includes sealer and cap dip that I can buy at the local hardware store and to stay away from water based products because they really warp hardwood shafts.  Any ideas??  What do yall use??

[madness522]

For the crown I use a coat of Kilz primer then just regular white house trim paint.  Stain on the bottom is usually just one coat.  Over that I use a wipe on poly (2 coats) then cresting. over that I have used a water based poly for 2 coats then one final poly.  The last arrows I have made I used 3 coats of shellac as the final finish.  Still applying the fletch so I have no idea how durable they will be.  But they sure look good!

[NY Yankee]

3 coats Minwax poly, allow each to dry 24 hours and steel wool in between. Buff 3rd coat and spray crown with Krylon Gloss. Top off with either Minwax clear spray or Krylon Krystal clear. Allow to dry 24 hours and fletch with duco. Ive never had Duco fail to hold over Minwax or Krylon clear. I dont know about other products. You can crest with Testors paint. I always spray on the top coat if crested or crowned.

[LBR]

From a good friend of mine--best finish I've used, cheap, easy, and everything is available at the hardware store.

Tom Kiessling's process for making wooden arrows using the
  epoxy/acetone finish.


1) First thing I do is stain shafts.  I usually use aniline dyes from
  Gray Ghost Archery, but any stain will usually work.  I only stain
  to where the stain and crown will meet.

2) After stain dries, using 0000 steelwool to remove any raised grain,
  then stain again if necessary to achieve desired color.

3) If I don't have any epoxy formula made up, I use the following
  procedure for that.
 
  *I purchase Devcon 2-ton epoxy and a can of acetone from Wal-Mart
  in the paint section.  I use a 4 ounce jar (baby food or mason
  jelly jar) to squirt the entire contents of epoxy in to.  I then
  completely mix the 2 epoxy parts until clear.  I then add 1 ounce
  of acetone (1/2 jar) and stir until the epoxy appears to have
  dissolved and looks only like acetone remains.  I then fill the
  jar with acetone and stir again for a few seconds.*
 
4) Applied one coat of epoxy as described next.
 
  *Always wear chemical resistant gloves, I use the blue Nitrate cloves
  that the tools trucks (Snap-On, Mac) sell to local automotive and
  diesel garage mechanics.  I use small cotton rags from t-shirts.  
  Hold arrow at nock or point end, make one long continuous swipe
  from end to end.  Then rotate shaft 180 degrees and do again. (Do
  not attempt to double wipe on same side, the rag will stick to
  the first coat).

5) After epoxy dries, check for raised grain.  Remove if needed.

6) Apply a second coat of epoxy.

7) I will mark the shafts for my crown.  I use 2 inch masking tape
  at the crown line.  I then spray the crowns on, (I usually use Krylon
  enamels, and usually 2 coats will be enough).  **If you are going to
  use fluorescent colors, always spray a basecoat of white first.**

8) After crown dries, apply cresting lines (Testors model paints work great).

9) After crown and cresting are COMPLETELY dry, spray or brush the
  crown and crestings with a thin coat of Min Wax Water Based
  Polyacyrlic (blue can).  I prefer to brush mine on while shaft is in my
  crester.  (I use an Arrow Specialties crester).

10) After poly dries, apply second coat.

11) After letting poly dry an hour, apply first coat of epoxy over
   entire shaft.  Make sure to check wiping rag for paint residue
   after first arrow to insure that acetone is not attacking cresting
   and crown. If paint is being attacked, crest the arrow if
   needed, and give another coat of poly over all arrows.  Some
   paint will show up from the nock end where there wasn't any epoxy.
   
12) If all is ok, I will usually put on 5 to 7 coats of epoxy,
   make sure to smooth out finish very lightly with 0000 steel wool
   between all coats.

13) I then set nocks using Duco cement, and mount feathers with either
   Bohning Fletch Tape or regular super glues (not the gel stuff).
   I prefer the tape.  This makes for easy feather repair if needed.  
   Make sure to remove any excess epoxy from the nock taper first,
   the cement will stick better.  I do this with the small blade of my
   pocket knife.