Question: wipe on poly

[James Harvey]

#6809

Hey guys, I’ve finally got a little free time so am putting together some douglas fir shafts.

I’ve got some wipe-on poly, I remember a few guys here have been using it. What kind of cloth do you use to wipe it on?

The only rags I’ve got are old cotton t-shirts. I was thinking I might have to go buy something a little less ragged, like a chux cloth or something?

[Stephen Graf]

#55503

Any old thing will do. I use old socks.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#55600

An old clean t-shirt works just fine. Keep the coats thin, and give it plenty of time to dry. Let’s see ’em when they’re done!

[Mark Turton]

#56985

I’ve used sponge successfully.

Mark.

[James Harvey]

#16767

Follow up question for you chaps wise in the ways of wipe-on, what glue do you use for your feathers? The glue that I’ve been using for ages on my dipped shafts seems to be burning through the poly as it dries.

[Stephen Graf]

#16946

I’ve used:

super glue – Works, but eventually fails. Nock comes off after a while.

Fletch-tite – works ok, but weakens the nock tangs and causes them to fail when shooting.

Barge Cement – Doesn’t work at all.

Duco – seems to work the best. Butseems to react with the finish and changes its color.

[Mark Turton]

#17207

Double sided tape with a dab of glue each end works well for me, only concern I might have is in very hot weather.

Hot melt for nocks.

Hows the knee holding up.

[Stephen Graf]

#18040

woops. For some reason I read nock instead of feather in the question.

I second the tape method. Used to use fletch tite and a jojan fletcher. Switched to tape and a bitzenburger and it works almost as well.

I’ve had a few feathers lift up in the middle. And my current batch of tape is hard to work with as the peel off backing breaks up more than it peels off.

But on the whole, its faster and easier. Easier to re-fletch an arrow too.

[Patrick]

#18080

I went from using tape to Duco and seem to prefer Duco, but I suppose it does depend on the stain and sealant combo used with it. Correction, my SON uses Duco, as he’s now the official family fletcher. 🙂

[Stephen Graf]

#19146

You better not get too rusty with the fletching skills there dad, just when them boys get real helpful, they tend move out.

[Ralph]

#19372

Yeah and take what they fletched with’em. 😀

[Patrick]

#22897

Ugh. True…they grow up fast. 😥

[northernarcher]

#45564

My last couple dozen arrows have been sealed with wipe-on poly. Old t-shirts work great for applying the finish, and Gorilla Super Glue makes for a bomb-proof fletching glue.

[Patrick]

#14579

Steve Graf wrote: You better not get too rusty with the fletching skills there dad, just when them boys get real helpful, they tend move out.

I fletched my last few. It’s like riding a bike. 😉

[Ralph]

#15219

And you don’t need to wear a helmet…:roll:

[Terry Lightle]

#55920

I use a heavy duty paper towel and Duco,no complaints from our customers.

[Donald Hoffman]

#129923

I dip mine with poly.

[grumpy]

#130476

I’m a dipper.  Use a plastic pipe with a bit of nylon panty hose over top of pipe (petite). Cut poly SPAR varnish by 25% to keep the drips and sage down.  UV rays from the sun breaks down the interior varnish.  double sided tape for fletching, that way I don’t have to worry about gluing the fletches to the table.  If you use the super glue make sure it says waterproof on the label.

I’ve lost arrows in the snow, and found them in the spring in fine shape.

Grumpy

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