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How to wax a bowstring by 60X Bowstrings
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Contributors to this thread:
60X Strings 28-Apr-15
Buffalo1 29-Apr-15
t-roy 29-Apr-15
Canuck 30-Apr-15
Bou'bound 30-Apr-15
Kurt 30-Apr-15
Buffalo1 30-Apr-15
Bou'bound 30-Apr-15
Canuck 01-May-15
60X Strings 01-May-15
Mark Watkins 10-May-15
Two Feathers 24-May-15
RobWat 25-May-15
BC 26-May-15
From: 60X Strings
28-Apr-15

60X Strings's Link
Waxing your bow string is an essential part of bow maintenance and knowing How to Wax a Bow String properly is as critical as the wax itself. This applies to all types of bows including compounds, crossbows, recurve and longbows. Waxing your bow string will extend the life of your bow string by keeping it from becoming frayed, damaged by dirt or water and will help to keep the strands from becoming dried out and less flexible. Waxing your bow string is very simple to do and only takes a couple minutes of time. Here is a quick rundown on how to wax a bow string.

The first thing is to make sure that your bow string is clear of any dirt or debris. This can be done by wiping with a clean dry cloth. Another little trick is to take a scrape piece of bow string serving material. If you do a half wrap with the bow string serving and lightly pull it down the bow string you will see dirt and old wax being removed.

Next you want to take your tube of bow string wax and rub it up and down on your bow string. You want to make sure the bow string wax is sticking far enough out of the tube that the tube itself is not contacting your bow string. Letting the tube rub on the bow string will cause premature wear. You want to apply a good amount wax but be careful not to overdo it. Ideally you want to make sure the bow string wax covers the bow string with a thin coat. While doing this you only want to wax the exposed portion of the bow string. You want to make sure that you do not wax any of the bow string servings.

Now that you have wax on your bow string you want to take your finger and thumb and just rub the wax into the bow string. The heat and friction will cause the bow string wax to melt and make it easier for the wax to penetrate each individual strand and cover the entire bow string. Some will recommend to use a piece of leather instead of your fingers but I have found that you can build up quite a bit more heat with leather. By using your fingers you will not add excess heat to your bow string which could contribute to premature wear. If your fingers get hot you will stop and your bow string will thank you.

Once all of the wax has been rubbed in you can take the cloth you started with and wipe off any excess wax that might have built up. This will usually be where the bow string meets the servings. By keeping your bow string waxed it will last longer and perform better. It's a great idea to regularly wax your bow string. How often will depend on how much you shoot your bow and the age of your bow string. In general the more your shoot and the older your bow string is the more you will need to keep it waxed. Stay tuned for more helpful archery articles from 60X Custom Strings. You can contact us at [email protected] or visit our blog at www.60xcustomstrings.com/blog/

From: Buffalo1
29-Apr-15
A good reminder of something not to overlook.

I wax string daily in Africa due to the dust factor.

Tks.

From: t-roy
29-Apr-15
What is the reason to not wax the serving?

From: Canuck
30-Apr-15
ttt. yeah, why not wax serving AND if not, what should we put on it if anything. Thanks and keep the tips coming please!

From: Bou'bound
30-Apr-15
What is the best brand of wax to use

From: Kurt
30-Apr-15
Bou, the best I've found is Sno-seal boot wax. It is bee's wax based and penetrates the string and lasts longer before re-application than straight hard bow string wax. I use my fingers to apply it, carry it in the pack in a double ziplock bag for my boots and string on long trips, etc. No scientific study, just observation on how long until the string gets frayed between wax applications.

I purchased a tube of the expensive Winner's Choice wax once and didn't like it........lacked staying power.

The other cheap and readily available source of bee's wax is a wax toilet seal ring.........but the used stuff smells funny. It will work though. All kidding aside one tube of bowstring wax lasts about a decade or more at my house, but the Sno-seal boot wax option out-performs it.

From: Buffalo1
30-Apr-15
The best string wax I have found for Africa is String Snot.

Like others- not scientific study, just self-experimentation with various brands/types.

From: Bou'bound
30-Apr-15
what about the scorpion stuff that is liquid not solid

From: Canuck
01-May-15
Hello again, what if anything should go on serving? How could was hurt serving? thanks!

From: 60X Strings
01-May-15

60X Strings's Link
Do not put anything on the serving. There is no need to wax it. The serving is constructed differently then the bowstring material and does not require the wax. As far as what kind of wax I don't feel it makes a difference. I personally still use a tube of bohning tex tite from 1990. We have customers that swear by just about every wax we sell from x wax, to bohning to string snot.

From: Mark Watkins
10-May-15
Great info! Thanks for the clarification on servings!

Mark

From: Two Feathers
24-May-15
My 9 year old grandson took his stickbow to school on Thursday to do a demo on "How To Wax a Bowstring". He got a good grade and said to say thanks for the info.

From: RobWat
25-May-15
If you wax your servings, it will cause a build up of wax in your cam grooves. This will allow clutter to stick and possibly wear on your strings, serving, etc.

From: BC
26-May-15
I use the liquid Scorpion stuff too.

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