Painted arrows

History of Archery and collecting antique and collectible Traditional Archery supplies.
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Captainkirk
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Re: Painted arrows

#61 Post by Captainkirk »

Shadowhntr wrote:;) I noticed its only been pics of shafts, not the fletching!!
Ya think? 8-)
Aim small, miss small!

Captainkirk
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Re: Painted arrows

#62 Post by Captainkirk »

OK, probably going about this all bass-ackwards, but I decided to do up one "test arrow" and see how it flies before going hog-wild on a whole dozen. So, here's what I did:
Pulled one shaft, checked it for grain uniformity and straightness; check. I used that little pencil sharpener taper tool...and they were right. It works excellent on the Larch. I sanded the shaft OD using 400 wet-or-dry, then took my rattle can Rustoleum out back behind the garage.
The white went on pretty quickly, but I was trying to figure out a decent way to hold it without painting my hands as well when I had a brainstorm; I hacked off a hunk of silicone tubing from my garage supply stash and just slipped it onto the point taper...presto! One 'handle'.

I slipped it over the end of a bungee and hung the other from the light fixture in the garage...in front of my bike cooling fan...

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...the white Rustoleum (base coat) was still tacky after nearly an hour. Undaunted, I grabbed the orange and shot 3 light coats and hung it to dry again. The orange paint was dry to the touch in minutes with no compatibility issues...


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...I glued on a nock using super glue gel then hung it to dry overnight...tonight I dug out the Fletch-Tite and started gluing feathers. This is new to me as previously I've used the Bohning tape, but wanted to duplicate the look of the original arrows...

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I decided, for testing purposes, to leave these full-length and trim as needed, as they will be strictly target arrows. Next comes cresting, so I have to try to find a Testor's color close to the aqua-green.
Aim small, miss small!

Captainkirk
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Re: Painted arrows

#63 Post by Captainkirk »

For the record; I think I like the fletching tape better than the glue, but I have 11 more to go before reaching a final decision... 8-)

I can see one spot where the orange paint is revealing the white basecoat along one of the quills. Not totally unexpected, since one of the major ingredients in the 'new' Fletch Tite is MEK (methyl ethyl ketone)
Aim small, miss small!

Longtrad
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Re: Painted arrows

#64 Post by Longtrad »

I like fletch tape the best too, other than that I use superglue, I like gel the best but normal stuff works fine, just have to be more careful. It leaves a foggy white finish on some types of paints though so always good to do a comparability test when making fancy arrows


Figure out anything for the green cresting?

Captainkirk
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Re: Painted arrows

#65 Post by Captainkirk »

Longtrad wrote: Figure out anything for the green cresting?
Not yet. The Ace near my house is out of a lot of colors much of the time. There's another maybe 5 miles away that has a huge model section, I might try there. If not, I can try blending green, blue and white until I come close.
Aim small, miss small!

Captainkirk
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Re: Painted arrows

#66 Post by Captainkirk »

OK, so I had a sorely-needed day off today and decided to put it to good use. Got up after sleeping in (*yawn*) and drove out to the aforementioned Ace. True to form, they had the full Testor's paint rack, and it was very well-stocked. There were no empty slots.
I didn't find the aqua-green I was looking for, but there was a color called 'Turquoise' that was darn close. I bought it plus another bottle of Green so I could play 'Color Kittens' when I got home (if any of you remember the Golden Book children's story...but I am dating myself here...)

This is the color I needed...

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...and this is what I got...

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...and THIS is where I wanna go...

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Any of you who have ever played 'Color Kittens' knows that wet paint color does not equal dry paint color. Since I'm experimenting, rather than doing a test swatch and seeing if it matches, I just said "To heck with it!" and slapped it on. We'll see how close it is when it dries ( or not... :? )

Here's how it ended up right after I applied it...note the original arrow sitting on the crester above the new arrow for comparison, and my 'Rube Goldberg' template...

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...not too far off, but also who knows how much the original paint has changed color? In any case, I'll check it tomorrow in the sunlight and maybe add a bit more green...
Aim small, miss small!

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Graps
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Re: Painted arrows

#67 Post by Graps »

:? Are these going to be used by NASA ? :roll:
"Maybe the truly handicapped people are the ones that don't need God as much." ~ Joni Eareckson Tada

Carpdaddy
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Re: Painted arrows

#68 Post by Carpdaddy »

Looking good Kirk. Sometimes I just like watching your technical mind at work, especially on the other threads dealing with spine. Your attention to detail is impressive, now I know why you are a rocket scientist! :ugeek: :geek: I think that's the same thing as a airplane mechanic. :mrgreen:

Captainkirk
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Re: Painted arrows

#69 Post by Captainkirk »

graps wrote::? Are these going to be used by NASA ? :roll:
Yes. Yes they are. Now you done blew my cover, graps! :shock:
Aim small, miss small!

Captainkirk
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Re: Painted arrows

#70 Post by Captainkirk »

So, after drying overnight, I dragged the arrow out into the daylight and shot a couple comparison photos. It looks like the turquoise still needs more green in it, but I'm not gonna fret, as the orange is brighter anyway.
I will call this good. Now all that's left is to bareshaft tune, (or maybe paper tune, or both) and determine a final length and then glue on a field point. Oh yeah...and make 11 more. :roll:



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