Dipping
10-21-2003, 10:52 AM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Gouldsboro PA USA
Posts: 17
Dipping
I just received my shafts back from being dipped and found that the dipped part of the shaft was a little rough. I used 400 grit sand paper to smooth it out. Has anyone ever run into this problem? Will using 400 grit sand paper ruin the paint?
Thanks
Thanks
10-21-2003, 11:06 AM
#3
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Gouldsboro PA USA
Posts: 17
RE: Dipping
Black Frog,
I thought it would be the smoothest part also. It seems like dust got on the wet paint that left little bumps.
I am getting ready to buy equipment to dip my shafts myself. I don' t intend to do any cresting, just dipping what equipment will I need (diping tubes, lacquer thinnr paint, etc.)?
Does it pay to buy Bohnings kit foir instructional purposes?
Thanks
I thought it would be the smoothest part also. It seems like dust got on the wet paint that left little bumps.
I am getting ready to buy equipment to dip my shafts myself. I don' t intend to do any cresting, just dipping what equipment will I need (diping tubes, lacquer thinnr paint, etc.)?
Does it pay to buy Bohnings kit foir instructional purposes?
Thanks
10-21-2003, 11:48 AM
#4
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Kenosha, Wi USA
Posts: 499
RE: Dipping
You' ll pay a bit more, but I think the Bohning paints for arrows are the best stuff around. It' s only a few bucks difference than using cheap paint, and it will last a long time- why not use the best? Very durable and adheres to the shaft well with proper preparation. You can buy their paints lots of different archery places.
www.bohning.com
Their flourescent colors are SUPER bright- highly recommended. If you are doing any colors, be aware that you HAVE to have a good undercoat of white for the color paint to go on top of.
Bohning also has very good thinner to go with their paint. When dipping shafts (make sure you plug the ends before dipping) I thin the paint down quite a bit. It' s better to have multiple dips of thin paint than one thick coat. As the paint drips off, it can tend to build up right at the bottom- and if you have too thick of paint, it will really bulge as it runs off the bottom of the shaft. Not to mention added weight at the back of the shaft.
After doing it a few times, you' ll get the feel if the paint is too thick or too thin. Use a 1/4" wood dowel to " test dip" to see how the paint runs off and how thin it is. When you pull the shaft out of the dip tube, it will have paint running off of it and will eventually trickle down to a drip. The way of testing how thin the paint is is to note the time it takes for it to start dripping after pulling the shaft out.
My latest batch had quite a bit of paint work on them and it added about 20 grains to the arrow. It all depends on the amount (distance) you dip, the thickness of the paint, how many coats, etc....
I crest a lot of arrows after dipping, it really makes the " look" of the shaft. But if all your doing is dipping, you' ll need some dip tubes, shaft plugs, paint, thinner, and make-shift drying rack. Test dip some cheap wood dowels or old discarded or used arrow shafts to get the hang of it before trying your real shafts. Let yourself learn how thick/thin the paint in the dip tube needs to be to give a good coat that is thin enough to run off the shaft, but thick enough to give some decent coverage.
I can post a couple of pics if you would like-
www.bohning.com
Their flourescent colors are SUPER bright- highly recommended. If you are doing any colors, be aware that you HAVE to have a good undercoat of white for the color paint to go on top of.
Bohning also has very good thinner to go with their paint. When dipping shafts (make sure you plug the ends before dipping) I thin the paint down quite a bit. It' s better to have multiple dips of thin paint than one thick coat. As the paint drips off, it can tend to build up right at the bottom- and if you have too thick of paint, it will really bulge as it runs off the bottom of the shaft. Not to mention added weight at the back of the shaft.
After doing it a few times, you' ll get the feel if the paint is too thick or too thin. Use a 1/4" wood dowel to " test dip" to see how the paint runs off and how thin it is. When you pull the shaft out of the dip tube, it will have paint running off of it and will eventually trickle down to a drip. The way of testing how thin the paint is is to note the time it takes for it to start dripping after pulling the shaft out.
My latest batch had quite a bit of paint work on them and it added about 20 grains to the arrow. It all depends on the amount (distance) you dip, the thickness of the paint, how many coats, etc....
I crest a lot of arrows after dipping, it really makes the " look" of the shaft. But if all your doing is dipping, you' ll need some dip tubes, shaft plugs, paint, thinner, and make-shift drying rack. Test dip some cheap wood dowels or old discarded or used arrow shafts to get the hang of it before trying your real shafts. Let yourself learn how thick/thin the paint in the dip tube needs to be to give a good coat that is thin enough to run off the shaft, but thick enough to give some decent coverage.
I can post a couple of pics if you would like-
10-21-2003, 01:07 PM
#5
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Gouldsboro PA USA
Posts: 17
RE: Dipping
Sure I would like to see some pictures.
When letting your arrows dry, which way do you stand them, plug end down?
ooking at Bohnings catalog, I see flat white and gloss white, do I need to use flat white as a base coat for gloss white?
Any recommendations as a ratio of paint to lacquer thinner to start with?
Thanks again
When letting your arrows dry, which way do you stand them, plug end down?
ooking at Bohnings catalog, I see flat white and gloss white, do I need to use flat white as a base coat for gloss white?
Any recommendations as a ratio of paint to lacquer thinner to start with?
Thanks again
10-21-2003, 01:45 PM
#6
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Kenosha, Wi USA
Posts: 499
RE: Dipping
Here' s some with a base coat of white w/ blaze orange over the top. I aplogize for the bad resolution of these pics, they were taken before I got my new digital camera. 
the colors are MUCH better and more vibrant in person- the whites are very white and pure.
And here' s some that had more of a unique pattern:
When letting my shafts dry, I let them stand plug end down. If the paint is thin enough, I want it to be consistent over multiple shafts and if you let them dry plug-end-up, you may get some runs in the paint going to the front of the shaft. It also would be difficult to put the shafts plug-end-up and keep your nice defining line between dipped area and raw shaft.
The flat white would be the optimum base coat to use, but I think you could probably get away with using the gloss. But I think the flat white takes other colors better over the top of it- just my opinion.
How thin? Well, that' s a trial and error sort of thing. Only thin the amount you' re going to use in the dip tube, don' t thin the whole can. It is much better to thin a little, test, and if needed add more thinner. If you go too far with the thinner- then you' ll have to add more paint to get the mixture right and you' ll end up with way more paint than you' ll use. Kind of like cutting arrows, it is far better to cut a little and test and then cut some more rather than cut too much and end up with the shaft too short. (been there, done that [X(]) Some of the better dip tubes have covers so that you can store the paint right in the dip tube and don' t have to dump it back in the can. Next session you can add a little more paint to the tube, and re-thin as needed.
Add a little thinner to the paint in the dip tube, mix well, and do some test dippings with an old shaft making note of the time it takes once you pull the shaft out of the tube for the paint to turn from a " run" to a drip. Once you find a good mixture, keep note of that " time from run-to-drip" , that you' ll use to reproduce results once you find a good thinness. Make a quick log of times and results of how the coats turned out and how the paint did or did not bulge up on the end of the shaft. Make some trial runs before doing your real shafts.
Also be aware that your paint level will be going down as you dip shafts. So don' t use the bottom of the dip tube as your dip level, otherwise with each dip you' ll have slightly less dip length..... Add a little more paint to the tube than needed so that you can dip to the exact same length each time even though the level of paint may be going down a little.
the colors are MUCH better and more vibrant in person- the whites are very white and pure.And here' s some that had more of a unique pattern:
When letting my shafts dry, I let them stand plug end down. If the paint is thin enough, I want it to be consistent over multiple shafts and if you let them dry plug-end-up, you may get some runs in the paint going to the front of the shaft. It also would be difficult to put the shafts plug-end-up and keep your nice defining line between dipped area and raw shaft.
The flat white would be the optimum base coat to use, but I think you could probably get away with using the gloss. But I think the flat white takes other colors better over the top of it- just my opinion.
How thin? Well, that' s a trial and error sort of thing. Only thin the amount you' re going to use in the dip tube, don' t thin the whole can. It is much better to thin a little, test, and if needed add more thinner. If you go too far with the thinner- then you' ll have to add more paint to get the mixture right and you' ll end up with way more paint than you' ll use. Kind of like cutting arrows, it is far better to cut a little and test and then cut some more rather than cut too much and end up with the shaft too short. (been there, done that [X(]) Some of the better dip tubes have covers so that you can store the paint right in the dip tube and don' t have to dump it back in the can. Next session you can add a little more paint to the tube, and re-thin as needed.
Add a little thinner to the paint in the dip tube, mix well, and do some test dippings with an old shaft making note of the time it takes once you pull the shaft out of the tube for the paint to turn from a " run" to a drip. Once you find a good mixture, keep note of that " time from run-to-drip" , that you' ll use to reproduce results once you find a good thinness. Make a quick log of times and results of how the coats turned out and how the paint did or did not bulge up on the end of the shaft. Make some trial runs before doing your real shafts.
Also be aware that your paint level will be going down as you dip shafts. So don' t use the bottom of the dip tube as your dip level, otherwise with each dip you' ll have slightly less dip length..... Add a little more paint to the tube than needed so that you can dip to the exact same length each time even though the level of paint may be going down a little.
10-21-2003, 02:16 PM
#8
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Kenosha, Wi USA
Posts: 499
RE: Dipping
I' ve used masking tape for some batches, and on others I' ve made a pencil mark on the shaft and caaaaarrrrefully dipped to that exact mark each time.
With the masking tape, it can leave quite a " ledge" between raw shaft and dip area after you dip 2-3 times and then peel off the tape. But you do get full bold color right to the line, whereas if you dip to the mark you may have a bit of " thinness" in the color right by the line because the paint is running away from that line on each dip. Try both ways and see what you prefer.
In fact, you can see example of both ways in my pictures. In the second picture, look at the lower shaft in the crested silver area where the white dip ends, you can see a slight ledge under the silver paint. That was done with masking tape.
In the bottom picture, look at the slight amount of thinness in the yellow color where it meets the raw shaft area. You can see where that color is not quite as vibrant as it is further towards the rear of the shaft. That is the dip-to-mark method.
both ways will work fine-
With the masking tape, it can leave quite a " ledge" between raw shaft and dip area after you dip 2-3 times and then peel off the tape. But you do get full bold color right to the line, whereas if you dip to the mark you may have a bit of " thinness" in the color right by the line because the paint is running away from that line on each dip. Try both ways and see what you prefer.
In fact, you can see example of both ways in my pictures. In the second picture, look at the lower shaft in the crested silver area where the white dip ends, you can see a slight ledge under the silver paint. That was done with masking tape.
In the bottom picture, look at the slight amount of thinness in the yellow color where it meets the raw shaft area. You can see where that color is not quite as vibrant as it is further towards the rear of the shaft. That is the dip-to-mark method.
both ways will work fine-
