gibblet

mq1, i need your help bro! i got my cresting machine running. ahhhh, ugggghhhhhh, oh that smell, too much paint, darn it i'm taking paint off not putting it on, why can't i stay between the lines........

seriously, on the video he's putting green on and it looks real thin. they have good directions for exactly how thin to have the white dip, but not the colors. how thin do you get them? if you take a little bit off do you just wait until its dry and touch up? how do i get my edges neat? help! can i call?

Arthur P

A couple of brews to steady the hand. A couple more and you won't care if your edges are neat.

Sorry, gibblet, but I've got no other advice to offer. My crestings are done with a can of spray paint and a magic marker.[8D]

Greg / MO

gibblet, your welcome to call me anytime you want... shoot me an e-mail at [email protected] and I'll reply with my mobile number, which I carry on me all the tiime...


Quick thoughts: After capping the ends of my arrows (usually takes a couple coats with a spray can -- and then I let that dry overnight), I crest with Testor's model paint (the .97 glass bottles at Wal-Mart and the like).

I will tell you this: I tried cresting some arrows after stripping some old ones down earlier this year (needed to freshen them up after too many pass-throughs ) and when I got out my Testor's paint, it was going on REAL thin -- like you talked about. I finally figured out that it needed to be stirred up, like a gallon of house paint that hasn't been used lately. I got a toothpick and stirred it up for a good couple minutes and that fixed it ... it thickened right up. Otherwise, the colors "seperate" and it's pretty thin.

As far as applying, I use an old surgeon's trick... I rest my hand holding the paint brush against my other hand. You can cradle it with your free hand, or just rest it on top of the other, but it definitely helps to reinforce by pressing against something.

My lines don't come out perfectly straight either... but you can hide the wavy edges by using a very fine pointed brush and "pinstriping" between your color changes... It sharpens it up TREMENDOUSLY.

And... they still won't come out "perfect"... but -- mine look pretty good after a coupleattempts. The little imperfections just highlight the fact that it's a custom , hand-painted job!!

Greg / MO

I went and took a quick pic to highlight what I was talking about... you can see the pinstriping I did which really helps to clean up the edges. You can also see the brush marks in the paint, and probably a drop or two of overspray from initially touching the brush to the arrow as the cresting machine spins it. All this -- I think -- just adds to the "custom look" you get from this effort. I've had several people comment on how they turn out as they can instantly tell it's not just a wrap... and it really doesn't take too long to do these.



Again, send me an e-mail and I'll shoot you my phone number if you want to talk live.

Of course, they look better pictured like this :

gibblet

good gravy, that last pic really makes them look nice. wow! i got most of it figured out. if i had the dang camera cord i'd post some pics. mine are too busy, but it was the first 4.thanks.

Greg / MO

So how's it comin'?

gibblet

well, my first 4 still fly. i had the dip and first color on 4 more, but they all touched eachother and got completely messed up. the ones i made just have too much, too many bands. i need to go a little more elegant and use the 'less is more' deal. i've been scouring pics on the net and good gosh there are some absolute works of art out there. i'm an excellent feather splicer and when i get the process a bit more down i'll incorporate that into it. its real fun though. i like it. one thing i figured out, a black band about 1" with a blue band in the middle that fades on both sides, awesome! it's just going to be a lot of figuring out technique from here. i'm thinking it may be a better spring/summer activity when i can open all the windows though.

Greg / MO

Well, sounds like you're eventually gonna turn out some works of art yourself! I don't get where all the smell is coming from, though... I can crest a half-dozen and not notice too much smell at all.

Search our own trad forum here on huntingnet.net... I picked up a ton of info from those great folks there; they're super nice and willing to help out loads.

When you get some that you're half-way happy with, post some pics!!

nubo

Yes guy's I'd be interested in seeing some of the aftershot's Gibblet ,I just might get into a little of this myself ,but first i think I'll use this on my old arrow's so that I don't screw up my good one's LOL.

MQ1 that's an awsome looking buck and the arrow's looking real good too.nice job .

nubo

gibblet

it's really the lacquer dip that smells so bad. doing the test arrow to get the dip to the exact consistancy took about 6 tries. i kept wiping the arrow off and throwing the paper towel in my little shop garbage. all those lacquery paper towels got covered up in there and that's what was smelling sooo strong. once i figured out what it was and took it outside its not so bad anymore. i'm going to try to avoid the lacquer dip part by using lacquer spray paint and then doing the artwork on it. i've got 4 at home right now with spraypaint on them waiting for me to get there. i'm at my folks this evening for some holiday family time. trad forum? what's that? just kidding.