Finish on tips

[wizardgoat]

When I put a string on a newly finished bow, sometimes the finish comes off or does something weird on my tips.  What am I doing? Too thick of finish? I usually do 6-8 coats of tung oil and sometimes finish with poly in a can. Either on horn or wood, it happens right  where the string is biting the most.
Any ideas  would be very helpful thanks!

[DC]

Hi Goat I found that if you polish or even use too fine of sandpaper the finish will peel off. I stop with around 220 grit or the like.

[Pat B]

Is it happening on all tips or only certain woods?  Some tropical woods do weird stuff to finishes. You may have to seal the tip first with shellac or super glue then finish over that.

[The Zen Master]

Tung oil? As in Tru-oil, or something else?

I'm no bow finish expert but I've used lots of Tru-oil and lots of pure Tung oil (2 different animals), but it sounds like you have too much finish and it hasn't dried hard.

Personally, I would not apply any other finish over either Tru-oil or pure tung oil, but if I had to it would be at least 6-months after, to give the oil time to fully cure.

[jeffp51]

I just had the same problem with african black wood tips. it turned out to be pretty oily, and neither tung oil or poly spray would dry properly, and  A coat of thin CA glue solved the problem.  I tried a second coat, and it got gloopy, and I was left sanding it again.  but after that, two coats of tung oil were just fine and the finish is finally smooth.