yup, I seal the shaft after staining before capping. then cap and crest, seal with water based, then gasket lacquer over the top of everything for my finished arras. Just what works best for me anyways. I found it does this also (build up at the nocks if I am not careful thinning it, hence a couple test arras. I havent played much with the dipping with it unthinned and what wiping on I did I didnt like. Used both rags and sponge brushes like Di instructed me on and got 'streaks' instead of a smooth finish. I dont want to see the grain on my wood, if I did I would use Rit Dye's thinned with Denatured Alcohol, which btw seems to work well. I do however want to get my hands on some analine dyes, that will probably be next winters project though...to many things going on right now to do more playin!