finish for selfbow?

[66bronco]

I have just completed my first attempt at  a selfbow. It measures 66" ntn and I have cut an arrow window and shelf to give it a truer centerline shot than a shoot around style. Its dl is 28" and measures 52 lbs at 28". Now I need to know what is the best stain to use and finish to apply? Also is trueoil a good finish and is it waterproof? Any suggestions on a good finish would be welcome. 

[Josh]

i use tru oil, dont know if it is water proof but I don't plan on shooting my bows underwater either.      I know it is water-resistant I've had my bows out in the rain before with no adverse effects.  I usually use 5-7 thin coats rubbed in by hand and it seems to work great! -josh

[adb]

There are a ton of good bow finshes. Some of the ones I use are: wipe-on polyurathane, tung oil, truoil, linseed oil, and beeswax... in that order of preference. Just remember, there is no finish which is truly waterproof. Your wooden bows will still gain and lose some moisture.

[sulphur]

minwax spar urethane is about as tough as they come.  also has great uv protection.  thats what turns some woods darker colors.  it drys fast and can be rubbed with wax and steel then buffed out to a super flat finish.  thats my .02

[woodstick]

i use tru oil alot works good, i have used spar urathyne 1 time and it great stuff.

[Hillbilly]

Tru-oil or Helmsman spray spar urethane are my favorite finishes, or bear grease if I'm trying to keep it primitive.

[Pat B]

I use Tru-Oil on most of my bows. For hunting bows I do a quick spray of satin poly over the Tru-Oil  but just to cut the shine.
  Bear grease is also good. My yew hunting bow has only hand rubbed bear grease on it.

[parspektiv]

When do you aply oil or wax finishes? Before or after you glue the handle and other wrappings? If before, any glue stains will hinder the oil to sink in to the wood. If after, the glue will not stick. So when to finish?

[Jude]

When do you aply oil or wax finishes? Before or after you glue the handle and other wrappings? If before, any glue stains will hinder the oil to sink in to the wood. If after, the glue will not stick. So when to finish?

You can have it both ways, if you coat it heavy with linseed oil, heat it up with a heat gun to get it to penetrate really well, wipe off any excess, let it cool down, then degrease the surface with acetone.  Glue on or paint whatever you want, then topcoat again.

[Pat B]

I usually add the finish after the final sanding but before adding a  handle wrap. A good clean up after glue up goes a long way to a good clean surface. With TB glue a damp rag will get the excess glue off before it hardens. With other glue, whatever solvent is appropriate for that glue. Around tip overlays wipe off the excess after you clamp then when you shape the tips any remaining excess glue will come off then.
 On my last few bows I have used cordage for handle wraps. I will add a coat of finish under the wrap area first, let it cure, do the wrap and seal the cord with Massey finish(thinned 2ton epoxy) let that cure and begin finishing the bow.

[parspektiv]

Thanks, Jude and Pat!

[66bronco]

thanks everyone for the quick responses. I am going to finish sanding today and try to apply a finish tomorrow. I will probably go with tru oil as it seems like everyone seems to use it alot (must be pretty good stuff). again thanks for the help.

[Pdwight]

A bit late on this and I am no boyer. I have a good bit of firearm experience and I thought I would share this. There is a product called "Howard's Feed n Wax" , it is a mixture of Bee's Wax and Orange oil, it also contains some carnuba. It has the consistency of jelly , you wipe it on and let it set for a few minutes and then buff with a cloth and it looks great. Water rolls right off. It also smells a little like an orange slice. I have a self longbow that I applied 4 coats to over several weeks, it darkened the wood a bit (actually looks much better). This stuff works on poly finishes , oil finishes and even metal to seal it off. I cannot find it in stores here but you can get on ebay, a 16 ounce container is less than 20 bucks shipped.

Thanks

Dwight