When to seal arrow shafts, best sealer?

[Hawkdancer]

I think I put the cart before the horse, or the crest and fletch before the seal😀,  got anxious to work on the started shaft from the trade, and fletched and crested before I sealed it.  I plan to use my "spoon sealer"(1 part beeswax, 4 parts flaxseed oil), and rub it in well.  I put a 2 fletch pattern, so that shouldn't be a problem as my finger will fit in the gap, but what is the better way?  Seal whole shaft, then fletch and crest?  I used tape to set the fletch and then wrapped the ends with silk thread, and used enamel paint to crest.  Not sure the paint will penetrate the sealer, though.  Hope to be able to test fire in a few weeks.  Might have another one or two done by then.
Hawkdancer

[jeffp51]

I crest then seal, then fletch.  I sand the finish off under the fletch before I glue it on.  I have used a beeswax finish like the one you mention, and it looks really nice.  I also use either tung oil or polyurethane -- this last is the toughest and the easiest,  if you use the spray on stuff. If you use a rub on, test it with your cresting paint first.  I found out that the enamel model paints don't play nice with tung oil, for example.  you don't want to ruin a perfect arrow with the wrong paint combinations.  for cresting paints I have used enamel, acrylic, watercolor paint, and oil paints.  Each has pros and cons.

[bjrogg]

Like Jeff said, I usually put a coat of polycyclic on after glueing fletching on to seal glue. I use small brush for that.
Bjrogg

[wannabebowyer]

regarding sealing and painting, here is my $.02 worth. last summer i tried dipping with watered down titebond 3 with a splash of rit liquid clothes dye. your colors are limited, but it seems to be durable and duco cement sticks real well. don't use krazy glue; it turns to snot. i'm too lazy to spend time cresting an arrow i'll likely break anyway; not very artistic.  i'm still looking for the ideal bow finish.

[Pat B]

When I making arrows with commercial shafts I would stain first then dip in water base poly. I hated the smell of some other finishes. Water based poly has little smell, dries over night and is pretty tough.
For primitive arrows I use either Tru-Oil or pine pitch varnish.

[DC]

I use a water based poly that is designed for floors. It's very hard and resists abrasion.

[BowEd]

Many ways to get superior bonds here.Using compatible glues with finishes is what I do for superior bonding.I'll do everything to the shaft that I want to do before fletching.Stain,crest,or whatever.I'll give it a gasket sealer dip then.It dries within a minute.I'll look at it low light to be sure it's sealed good.If not I'll give it another dip.A person does'nt need to overseal it as it will only crack then as it's too thick.Does'nt smell at all that I can tell.Seals it good.Then I use duco cement to fletch with as it is very compatible with gasket lacquer sealer.I use an Arizona fletcher.I've retrieved shafts from ponds hours later/shafts from under lawn thatch days later with no problems of loosing fletching as it's waterproof.Might not be as primitive as it should be for some but it works good for wood shafts.The fletching just don't come off with regular use 3D shooting or stump shooting for me.
PS...I'll 3 feather fletch a shaft about every 35 minutes the way I do it.It's just a matter of letting the duco glue cure.

[TSA]

i dont build finished arrows commercially- just my own for personal use, but i sure talk to a lot of pro builders, and over time have figured out a system that works for me. so be warned it may not entirely be the way the pros do it.

1.all wooden shafts will need straightening to some degree, so i look down a fresh shaft and see which end is naturally more straight than the other- thats the end i put under the fletches.  i mark that end, or put on the nock taper. its the part of the shaft thats least likely to go crooked again for any reason, and straightening a shaft around fletching is a real P.I.A.
2.i give the shafts all their first go around of straightening.
3.then i stain, if i am going to, that really helps to make the grain "pop" helps me to see the best way to orientate the shaft
4. first coat of sealer- i just use water based poly

i find the biggest contributing factors to an arrows straightness, and maintaining it are temp and humidity, i get that first coat of sealer on, and try and put an end to the humidity issue.

5. second round of straightening, and maybe will do a third and final tweak if need be, and second coat of poly.
by now the shafts should not be moving anymore, and should be nice and straight- checked on my spin tester.
6. cap dips and cresting etc.( if i am going to- but usually not)
7. last coat of poly
8. fletch

i use a roller straightener to straighten my shafts, personally, i think its the best, and it hurts the shaft the least, but can leave dull spots on the finish- so that why there is one final coat after all the straightening etc.
I stump shoot with all my arrows, (and we live in a coastal rain forest here, so its always raining - just the angle changes!! ) and i have shafts that i have shot many thousands of times into brush at  stumps and dirt, and i find if properly straightened, and properly sealed, i never need to re-straighten them again.

i know this is more than was requested, but thats how and when i seal.
and i use a simple water based poly.
But then i dont 3D or target shoot, so target burn is not an issue for me.
many folk who are concerned about target burn, seem to have a lot of success with " Dalys ProFin"

[bassman]

I use a mixture of Bee,s Wax, Turpintine, and linseed oil. lightly heat the shaft ,and bone it in.It works OK.

[JEB]

After straightening the arrow I sand with 600 grit, wipe down and then coat the arrow with clear satin Min Wax wipe on poly ,  5 or 6 coats. I use 0000 steel wool in between coats.   I then use Lok tite Ultra gel for glue ( use this glue on metal and carbon as well) and have never had a problem.

One thing I do is use my air compressor to blow off the arrow after using the steel wool to make sure the arrow is clean and then wipe down with an old t-shirt in between coats.