1st time snake skin-finish cracked

[Josh B]

I concur with Pat and Pearly.  If you put the poly on thick enough to form a skin over the tru oil it will crack every time.  Best to just leave it be.  Josh

[Pat B]

You can put soft finishes over hard finishes but not hard finishes over soft finishes.

[DuBois]

I assume poly is soft since people cover a lot of others with it. Are shellac and Tru Oil hard finish? I am dumb about what is soft or hard finish.

I think you guys nailed it. I alternated coats with poly and tru oil a couple times and put it on thick trying to fill in to make it smoother.

Thanks fellas.
Doobs

[Sidewinder]

I agree with the guys, finish is too thick. I had that happen first time I tried to fill the scales with super glue and did'nt steel wool it in between coats. The super glue cracked in areas. I ended up sanding it down again and getting all the super glue off other than what was in the scale pockets, then just tru oiled it and it turned out perfect. Learned a good lesson there. In fact it was last years trade bow I sent to JW. The milk snake and osage bow. Yours was with a different finish but same concept.  Danny

[Pat B]

Poly is hard, Tru-oil is soft.   When I spray poly over a Tru-Oil finish I do it lightly, just enough to cut the shine but not thick enough to crack.

[bubby]

if it was mine I would take some thinner and wipe it down careful like and try and get that cracked finish off cause i'd get po'd everytime I looked at it, but that's me

[PEARL DRUMS]

If it says "oil" in the name anywhere its soft and soaks into the wood, that's why we rub tung and tru oil in. Poly is hard and doesn't soak into the wood at all. Have a look at the directions on some of these sealers. You'll find that some shouldn't have poly used in conjunction. Shellac is one of the very few sealers I know that will work with dang near anything under or over it. I love it for base coats.

[Eric Krewson]

I had the same thing happpen on my personal bow for no appartent reason. I have done at least 20 snaked bows, all finished with lights coats of tru-oil followed by a light spritz of satin spar, none with enough finish to eliminate the texture of the skins. No problem with cracking on any of my other snaked bows.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Perhaps the health of the Tru Oil plays a part. Or, maybe the moisture level of the skins at gluing. I soak my skins in water, but I also tamp them dry over and over before I smear glue on them and the bow.

[Pat B]

I also give bows with new glued on skins(or rawhide) at least a week to dry before adding any finish. I have found it can take that long for the moisture from the skins and glue to dissipate from the wood.

[Pappy]

I would think it was the finish you used,I have done many,and to thick has never
been a problem,sometimes I put 10 or 12 coats or more of tru oil on them,what ever it takes to get them smooth,I am not happy unless it is like a sheet of glass,I sometimes do as Pat with a final thin coat of satin polly but usually just buff it with steel wool if I plan on hunting with it to dull it a bit then add a fresh coat of Tru oil after the season. It has always worked for me so can't say about other finishes or mix of finishes .
   Pappy

[DuBois]

I believe it was the amber shellac with the wax in it that didn't adhere good enough to the skin.

I tried to refinish it and ruined the skin by getting too deep when sanding. I tried to touch it up with some colors to match and only got in deeper 

I then went ahead and scraped down some and the waxy shellac chipped out of the scale pockets almost like the original scales did.

If learning is done by mistakes, then I must be getting smarter with this bow cause t is a frankenstein of mistakes.

Will never again use the amber shellac under anything. Gonna use it to seal backs and ends of staves this spring instead.

Glad I tried on a rat snake instead of ruining a nice rattler or something, but it still is a shame to waste it. Retillered it also down to upper 50's.

Thanks everybody.
Doober

It is now a nasty pukey black/green/brown thing. Will post it when all done again.

[bubby]

sometimes the learning curve is a loooong curve dubes just gots to roll on

[soy]

That's a bummer doobs

[DuBois]

You know it Bubby, just gonnal keep on rollin'

Hey Thad, yeah it's a bummer but at least it shoots