Finish over dyed rawhide

[Kidder]

My usual favorite finish as of late has been 2-3 coats of minwax tung oil finish followed by 3-4 coats of Truoil. However I’ve run into a slight issue on a dyed rawhide backed bow. Applied one coat of minwax and as usual it dried within a couple hours. Everywhere except on the rawhide that is. 5 days later it is still “sticky” feeling. The rawhide had been on the bow for maybe two weeks before I dyed it with two coats of Fiebings leather dye, waited 24 hours, wiped any residue off with a clean rag and then applied the minwax tung oil finish. Any thoughts? Do I just need to be patient?

[Pat B]

I don't know why the tung oil won't dry. Maybe a reaction to the glue or the leather dye. I've used Firbings on many bows but only used
Tru-Oil as a finish.  I think I would try to remove the tung oil with a wipe down with acetone then use just the Tru-Oil like you normally would. If you want to oil the rest of the bow and the oil dries then just don't oil the rawhide.

[superdav95]

Exactly what pat said.  I’ve had this very same issue with tung oil.  By itself is a good finish for wood.  But like you I’ve had issues with drying over alcohol based dyes on rawhide in particular.  Part of this I think is due to the pourus nature of the rawhide.     Here’s a trick that I now use whenever I’m putting any finish over alcohol dyes.  I use a heat gun between coats of dye and gently go over with the heat gun till the dyed surface is quite warm. I then wipe off any excess dye haze with a clean rag and heat it up again. You will see the dye on the rawhide turn to a Matt or chalky texture haze after heating. This is what you wipe off.  It’s the alcohol that’s messing with the drying agents in your finish.  I then give it a couple days in the house to get good and dry and evaporate any remaining alcohol that may be trapped in the rawhide.  I’ve been able to get good results this way with my dyed finishes over rawhide.  Hope this helps ya.   

[George Tsoukalas]

It has been a long time since I did rawhide. But I am sure I gave it 3 coats of a polyacrylic. That's what I used in those days.These days I spray all bows with spar urethane.

When in doubt I check my finish on a small part before proceeding.
Jawge