Gasket lacquer?
 

I am starting to crest some arrows and when I did a search on this one of the clear coats before fletching was gasket lacquer. I looked for it this weekend and nobody has heard of it. I would imagine that I am looking in the wrong places. I guess what I'm asking is is it called something else and where would I buy it. I made my jig this weekend. I'm getting excited about getting going. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Rich

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

any of the supply houses like three rivers or kustom king carry gasket lac. you'll need dip tube(s), ect. it works very well and makes a hard coat. I think it takes half the work out of making custom arrows. you'll have to use Duco to glue feathers, and I use automotive touch-up paint for cresting. The standard fletch-lacq and bohning paints won't work

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

I was in a couple of stores this weekend checking for the gasket lacquer and the ducco is this a brand name? Also do you this your paint thanks for the help

Rich

Edited by - richie916 on 01/28/2002 04:06:30

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

I get mine from Lone Wolf--not likely you will find it at a regular archery store, or a hardware store. He also carries a special glue that was made to work with gasquet laquer, and it does a good job. Ducco is a brand of glue--you can find it at Wal-Mart or most any hardware store--comes in a green tube. I've used the "odds-n-ends" paint for cresting, but you will need to spray a coat of clear poly over it before you dip.

Good luck!

Chad

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

richie916 - Gasket Laquer is a type of nitocellulose based laquer. Home Depot carries a variety of it - only $16 a gallon, however I have been warned that it does take 2 for 1 coats as its not nearly as thick as the Gasket Laquer is. These types of laquers are used on penciles and guitar finishes to name but a few uses.

Personally, with help from everyone here, I spray paint my shaft, crest it, dip it twice in Minwax Polyacrylic (to preserve the crest - GL will eat it right off) then dip 3 or 4 times in GL. That gives me a hard, gloss finish for my arrows. I then fletch with DUCO cement. Its THE best way I have found so far to do it. This is for aluminum arrows and carbons by the way - woods are a different game for me.

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

Does anyone use colored stain (such as white)on their cedar arrows instead of lacquer?

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

I get my Gasket Lacquer from Sticks and Feathers Arrowsmithing. Troy has some that's a little better price than the rest of the vendors.

You'll also need a Big Dipper tube and the gasket lacquer cap and gasket (get a couple of gaskets, they do wear).

The first couple sets of arrows I made were dipped in polyurethane. It was a big pain in the butt. I hung them to dry and had finish dripping off all over the place. Additional coats took place over a period of days as the finish dried for the next coat.

When I found gl I was amazed at how well it worked. No dripping and it dried so fast I could do the next coat as soon as I'd dipped a dozen shafts. 4 - 5 coats in less than a half hour and it looked incredible. A half hour for the finish to get a little harder and I put on nocks; another half hour for the Duco to dry under the nocks and I was ready to fletch.

As has been stated, Duco is the glue to use for nocks and feathers. I get mine at Walmart since it's less than a dollar a tube there. Most other places have it at over $2 for the same tube.

I use Rit dye and analine dye to stain my shafts under the gl. I occasionally have bleeding problems on the first dip into the gl but they're nothing to worry about as they are minimal and the arrow still looks the same.

Hope that helps. Guy

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

BobCo19-65 - Powerful dye to take a brown shaft to white - and I did look into it :).

No, I dyed my wood shafts yellow - and it worked quite well. The bleeding effected my GL a LOT. I dipped a few dozen arrows and now how a very pretty amber colored GL - which does not llok that great over a white cap, so I had to seal that GL up and get new stuff going for my aluminum arrows. I don't reccommend dipping dyed wood shafts through your tubes thinking it won't discolor the GL - mine certainly did. Maybe a dip into the Minwax Polyacrylic first ??

Heres an idea too. Minwax makes a stain polyurethane. Stain the shaft and coat it all at once - just one or two dips, then let dry and GL coat it a few times on top of that. Wonder if it'd work ....

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

I am not too experienced in this area at all. But am looking into it. You can buy now stain with enough pigment to actually stain white, green ect. I stained the cedar shingles on my house a non-transparent burgandy red (and yes it is stain) and you can not see any grain on the cedar whatsoever. I thought that it may be good to use on cedar arrows for total coverage (no additional coats). Just wondered what people thought of the idea.

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

Richie & BobCo -
I haven't found a white stain yet that I like, that covers good in one coat. Almost any of the stains listed in this thread will discolor gasket lacquer. I've had best luck using a little steel wool - 000 or finer - then wiping the shafts off with a rag before dipping. Reds bleed worse than some of the others. Rit dye works pretty good, but I used some mixed with hot water on some compressed shafts and it swelled all the compression out of first couple inches on each end - not good. Rit mixed with denatured alcohol like you get at the paint store works OK. Lately I've been using a premixed leather dye that dries fast. It's a Feibing product. There is a difference between the gasket lacquer the archery vendors sell and the Home Depot stuff, just as stated the HD is thinner.

Other people have recommeded white shoe polish like comes in a bottle with a dauber, but I've never tried it and don't know what brand.

My present routine:
Straighten shafts, and mark the nock end based on grain pattern and straightness.
Measure and mark beginning of cap with pencil.
Taper nock ends.
Stain to cap with leather dye & a throw away sponge brush. Stain again if needed.
Stain or dip the cap. I'm presently using light stain (yellow leather dye). I just got started making tapered shafts, and don't want the weight buildup of paint to effect what I'm doing with the taper.
Steel wool and wipe each stained area separately.
Gasket lacquer 4 coats. Hang by the tips.
Crest with hobby shop ink sticks and sharpies.
Cover crest with waterbased polycrylic, I just use a little brush and enough to cover the crest.
Clean up the nock end by sanding gl off the tip back down to wood, run through my taper grinder again. Cut shafts to length & point taper.
Glue everything on. I use fletch tape for the fletching.
Go shoot and break at least one out of the dozen in the first 3 days.....
Hope this helps!
Tom

Edited by - wallypedal on 01/28/2002 14:32:33

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

I do alot of white crowns. I simply buy some Delta cream coat craft paint and water it down and use that for either dipping or use it with a soft rag and wipe it on. I dont use the bright white as it seems to take more coats then a flat white. they bring out the wood grain just like a stain would instead of covering it up like you might think a paint would. I only use craft paints for the crowns, and they do NOT bleed in the gasket lacquer at all. plus its under 1.00 a bottle and they last for along time.

Dianna

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

Hey Grey, believe it or not I was the fella that put him onto 'his' gasket lacquer, that toothy no good LOL! Anyways, he cant get a corner market on the stuff so if you want to know where to get it at 85 bucks for 5 gallons, plus shipping, let me know, ya got my email!

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

Dianna,
Does that Delta cream coat make pretty thin layers then? I'm sure you understand my wish to keep the coat fairly thin and light weight. If you thin it, I reckon you can control it pretty well. I think it's fine if some grain shows, I just want arrows I can see fly. Old and feeble as I'm getting, high vis helps!<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> When I had trouble with those compressed shafts, it was from dipping in the water based stain, and the water went into the end grain. If I ever use the compressed again, I'll just brush the crown on like I do the rest of the stain..
Thanks!
Tom

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

Hi, Dan. Egypt-something-or-other wasn't it? For the quantity I'd have to buy and the pain and suffering in decanting it I'd just as soon keep getting it from Troy and make him hassle with putting it in the smaller container <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Besides, gotta do my part for keeping him in business, he's good people.

But, thanks!

Edited by - Grey Taylor on 01/28/2002 20:42:42

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

Hey Walley, I do caps like Di does, btw thanks for the info Di <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>! Anyways, I dip mine. I do thin it about 50 50 depending on the color. Dont let the big bubble sit on there and a patch of little bubbles will pull the paint off as the group of bubbles falls but letting it sit till the bubbles are completly gone in the tube like with bohning will get to the point where the paint and water start to seperate! I seal the shaft first! Stain with an alcohol based stain on those compressed shafts, seal once over the stain to the bottom of your cap area, then over the hole shaft. Then dip, crest I use testers, dip in water based (I hit it twice) to protect the testors, I have pics I posted awhile back, smear city. Then finish coating with the gasket lacquer. What I find if I try and seal the caps before cresting without waterbased on the caps is the gasket wants to eat a little paint at the shoulders of the nocks. Not sure why it does it but it does. Maybe I am not letting the paint cure long enuf or its to thin but sealing in the water based AFTER I cap AND crest seems to works and why ask why when it works fine right LOL. Then again thats what works for me!

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

Thanks for the help with the ducco and gl. I have a routine I'm going to try that I got from a search on the subject before. I believe it was from DI and stealthy.

thanks

Rich

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

Dan,
When you say you seal the shaft first, does that mean with gl? I think you meant you do that just to the cap section, right? If you're putting one coat of gl on after the tip section is stained and before the cap goes on, why don't you do it all at once? Anyway, that's something I haven't tried. I've got some white latex enamel thinned down to where it pours off the shaft pretty fast after dipping, but it still builds up faster and thicker at the nock end. Maybe if I put up a ceiling fan in the shop and mount clamps to the end of the blades....centrifuge those things off....yeah.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
Seriously, thanks for the tip. Having that smooth gl surface to put the cap on makes sense.
Tom

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

Wally...With that delta paint you dont have to thin it, but I do. I have squeezed a drop on a rag and rubbed it on like a stain and that way it will not build up on the nock tapers. I guess the best thing to do is just mess around till you get the look you like.

Dianna

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

Wally...With that delta paint you dont have to thin it, but I do. I have squeezed a drop on a rag and rubbed it on like a stain and that way it will not build up on the nock tapers. I guess the best thing to do is just mess around till you get the look you like.

Dianna

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

Thanks Dianna,
Is there an echo in here?<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> I can held the mess around with it part! I can clean up the nock tapers OK, what I'm trying to avoid is a lot of paint thickness on the crown area, after I've tapered the shaft itself. I think ol' Richie got more than he bargained for here, but it's a favorite topic for a lot of us.

Tom (wallypedal) or Wally or whatever

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

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!

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

How much denatured alcohol do you thin the rit dye with? Do you use the powder or liquid. I bought some dark brown and some red (powder version) that I want to try to stain my new fiberglass arrows with. I have had them mistaken for wood enough in the couple days I have had them, that I might as well make em prettier <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>. Gotta wait for my feathers to come in. Anybody want a 2dozen Trueflight right wing 5&quot; shield cuts (1 doz. white, one red. I bought them on accident from the Kazoo expo from 3 rivers and I have no use for them that I can think of. My fletcher only does LW. E-mail me and I will sell em fer a dollar a set or something, or maybe a trade for something you guys don't need. Sorry I'm selling stuff....<img src=icon_smile_evil.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_sad.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_dead.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_dissapprove.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_question.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

Tox, for Rit powder dye I use about 6oz of alcohol to a package of dye. On the liquid stuff I use about the same 6oz of alcohol bt I mix in the dye until I get the color I want. Remember to shake the liquid dye before mixing it into the alcohol.

Watch out for the colors on the powdered dye. I think some of the dye pigment does not dissolve in alcohol. Rit powdered black give me a beautiful plum color. It looks really good but it's disappointing if you're looking for true black.

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

I have done both the liquid and the powdered also. I mix it in a wine bottle, seems to work well depending on the color as Grey pointed too. Some need to be diluted less, some more to get the color. You can also mix up some funky stains with the stuff. For black try the analine dyes...then again I havent had my hands on any but have been told its great stuff! The rit dyes are cheap and easy though so its hard to pass it up. Greyghost archery (if I remember right) has the analines in some wild colors. If you cant find him try the leather catalogs.

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

Dan, when you get streaks you need to steel wool the first coat and do a second..that should take away any streaks and leave a smooth finish...Took me several tries but I got it mastered now!

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

hmm..ya dont get any problems using the steel wool? I would get something from the SW rubbing off onto the caps so I started using green scrubbies to nock down any nasty bubbles inbetween dips. I will have to give that one a whirl though..more like log it for now as I have hardly shot my bow other then in the house a few arras a nite. Been trying to get some time to start this stinking canoe. Got the wood for the strong back and forms outside and the plans finally cut out. Screwed up the last set and keep forgetting the dang drill at work LOL! This weekend I will be making dust, if not tomorrow nite. Missed another meeting tonite with fish and game, instructor garb, so I could come home and spend a few waking moements with Dawn and finish those plans. Got 2 new bows back to back and hardly have flung anything from either other then at my bale in the hunting room. Just itchn to get to the range or take my old standby out and do some preditor calling, espically with these warmer temps and the hare populations crashing....ok rambling lol.....later

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

I use white gasket lacquer on wood but I'm now using white appliance epoxy enamel on aluminum. I tape the shaft where I want the cap to end and put it in my cresting jig. Light coats of the spray can while the shaft is turning works great. It did take a couple shafts to figure out how much paint so I didn't get runs. I then take the shaft out and hang like normal. This stuff is extremely tough! Cresting can be done with ANY paint. I have not tried to dip over the finish crest but I don't seem to need to. Very tough stuff. Dick

RE: Gasket lacquer?
 

Gee Dan...Thats a rough life you got!! lol