Spray Cresting help

utah300rum · 11-11-2005, 01:53 PM

I removed my old fletchings off 3 old arrows to try a spray crest.
I picked up some Rustoleum spray Laquer.One arrow I cleaned with water.Two arrowsI cleaned with acetone. I sprayed one acetone and one water cleaned arrow with just the white laquer. The other acetone cleaned arrow I primed then sprayed the white laquer. I let them dry overnight then started to fletch.

I tried 3 types of glue. Fletchtite, liquid superglue and a gel super glue. I immediately found out the fletchtite messed up the laquer. So I treid the two super glues. I fletched the arrows and let the glue cure for about 4 hours.

On all the arrows the super glue held thefletching great to the paint, but if I pull hard on the fletching it rips up a strip of the paint and comes off. So I seem to have a problem with the laquer sticking to my Gold Tip XT shafts.

I did not sand the shaft since I had heard it was not needed and is bad to sand carbon shafts. Even the shaft with primer, the paint peels off with the fletching.

Any help for those who are having better luck??

I stripped the paint off one of the arrows and tried a white arrow wrap then fletched it with the gel super glue it is drying right now them I will see if the fletching hold. It was easier than I thought it would be but I still would like to find a way to make the paint creat work.

I like the idea of the paint wrap for the cost, weight and ease of removal with acetone.I need to find a way for the paint to stick to the arrow.

JoshKeller · 11-11-2005, 05:32 PM

I found that if I let the laquer dry overnight I get much better adhesian. I am using fletch tite platinum.

fatsbucknut · 11-11-2005, 06:09 PM

i painted a few arrows this summer but they were already fletched. I just taped them off and it worked great.

Greg / MO · 11-11-2005, 08:05 PM

Give me a sec utah, and I'll be back to help... I've done some myself and had fantastic results. I'm having some image-hosting problemsfor my post in the bowhunting forum I'm in the middle of fixing.

Greg / MO · 11-12-2005, 07:00 PM

OK, utah... sorry it took so long for me to get back to ya.

First things first. Any and all help you need on this subject can be obtained in the trad forum; anything at all I've learned about this has come from there. There's some really great people ready, willing and able to lend you a hand there.

I cap my arrows with some cheap,basic Wal-Mart spray gloss white enamel; it sellsfor like .97 cents a can. I use masking tape and newspaper to cover the top of my arrows, and give them 2-3 good coats, letting them dry overnight. I don't think I really had to do any prep work at all the first time (the arrows were Gold Tip Hunter XTs), but I redid them just this past month as I had taken about 20 deer with the same six or seven arrows, and refletched several times because of pass-throughs. I just wanted to freshen them up a bit.

Then, I use my home-made cresting machine I made for $11 -- which I obtained plans for on the internet. Here's the link to the plans: http://www.stickbow.com/stickbow/arrowbuilding/cresting.htmlIt works absolutely fabulous, and the only cost involved is the cost of the sewing-machine motor ($5, used from a local repair shop), and I eventually ordered an arrow chuck from a retailer to hold the arrows securely while I was cresting them for $6.

Here's a pic of mine:

I crest using Testor's modeling paint, and you can feel free to experiment all you want with patterns and designs. After all, it's now basically free to do as many as you want! Some of the best advice someone gave me was to buy an ultra-thin brush and put a tiny black stripe between the bands of colors on the cresting to tidy it up; it makes it look a lot more "polished."

After that, I let it set overnight again (yes, now we have a two-day process) and fletch with Duco glue. It comes in a green tube, and can be bought in the hardware department at your local Wal-Mart.

Here's the finished product:

Feel free to ask any questions if you need added detail or further clarification.

Greg / MO · 11-12-2005, 07:06 PM

Oh. I was gonna tell you: I haven't found a thing wrong with sanding the shafts down with a very high-grit sandpaper, either. Like I said, I don't even think I prepped the shafts the first go-around (other than cleaning them with alcohol)... but when I re-did them, I had to sand all the old stuff away and take them back to the bare shaft again. I had no problems sanding them down -- again, with a very high-grit paper. I'm not sure what it was, but you almost couldn't feel the grain on it.

utah300rum · 11-12-2005, 10:50 PM

MQ1,

Thanks for the help. Please forgive me if my responses are sporatic. My wife had our baby last night and I have been at the hospital. I am planning on experimenting since I am taking a week off of work to help with the new baby. So in the down time I will work on my arrows.

The only difference I see is I am using the spray Laquer which I was told is a must. I am using the Duro quick gel from walmart. I redid another arrow using two coats of primer andtwo coats of white laquer. I let it cure for over a day, Iredid it after writing my original post. I just fletched them about two hours ago.I will let the glue cure till morning then see if they stick better.

Have you tried to pull your fletchings off ??

Mine stick OK. I dont think they would fall of just shooting, but on a pass thru of a target I think they would be gone.

If not I will try sanding the arrow and give it another try.

utah300rum · 11-12-2005, 11:11 PM

I just found some interesting info. I just weighed the arrow I sprayed with 4 coats of spray vs the wrapped arrow(no field points just arrow, fletchingsand nock)

wrapped arrow- 283.2 grs

painted arrow- 276.5 grs

just thought that was strange I have read the wraps are20 grains each and the paint was supposed to be just a few grains.

My arrows were running 370 grains with a 100 gr field point so the paint added 6.5grs and the wrap 13 grns. not too bad, pretty close to what infoI read

mobow · 11-13-2005, 03:48 PM

I clean mine with plain ole rubbing alcohol, and it works great. I am using Fletchtite Platimum, and it also works great. It does "melt" the paint off under the fletching, but unless you are careless with the glue, it will go unseen until you tear the fletch off. Incidentally, when you do, use lacquer thinner to clean the paint off and start over. It works great.

Greg / MO · 11-13-2005, 09:38 PM

utah,

The Duco on the gloss enamel works fantastic! I had some in my quiver that had been pass-throughs for five or six deer. That means you've really got to hand it to True Flight feathers, too... all I did was wash them thoroughly to get the blood out of the feathers, let them dry, and put 'em back in the quiver. Occasionally, I would have one tear some feathers up, but that's to be expected every once in a while.

I've never primed before spraying with the gloss enamel, either. Just two coats is plenty.