Spin vanes - better to use a wrap or not?

jonUK76

Member
I've recently used Mylar spin wings (Kurly Vanes) for the first time on a set of carbon arrows I made up. I like the way they shoot etc. but I notice the tape lifts quite easily from the carbon arrows. They are not falling off, but the edges lift quite noticeably over time (I can usually flatten them down again by pressing), and occasionally I end up with two or more arrows stuck together by the vanes when removing them from the quiver. This is despite cleaning the shafts as recommended. I was wondering if using a vinyl wrap gives better adhesion for the double sided tape, compared to sticking them to the carbon directly. Another advantage of a wrap is you can get them with the lines pre-printed, which seems a nice idea. Thoughts?

Thanks
 

jonUK76

Member
What sort of glue would you recommend?

The leading and trailing edges of the vanes are taped down with pin stripe tape over the top and can't lift. It's the edges not covered by the finishing tape that are lifting.
 

Timid Toad

Moderator
Staff member
Supporter
Fonz Awardee
Ironman
I don't use wraps, and with practice you'll get better at getting them on so they don't stick together and making the fletchings stay stuck down. Remember greasy fingers will impair the tape's adhesive properties. What do you give the shaft a wipe with before fletching?
 

jonUK76

Member
I used pure 99.9% IPA (isopropyl alcohol, not the beer!) on a clean cloth to wipe the arrows down, which took off quite a bit of black powdery like stuff from the surface. Didn't fancy using really harsh stuff like acetone.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
For glue, I use Saunders NPV Arrowmate. I have used it for the last 30 years or so.( not the original tube heehee)
It sets strongly but does not go brittle like super glue does.
 

KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
Over the years I've found the tape for spinwings does have a tendency to lift from carbon arrows even when cleaned with IPA. I now use Mybo wraps. They look good, Range-o-matic spinwing tape sticks to them like the proverbial and they are incredibly thin at only 25 microns.
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
I don't think I've ever had a set of bent vanes which didn't lift a bit and stick together... You can tell people who are used to them on the line, by the twist they give the shaft on lifting it from the quiver, to free it up from the others.

I've seen lots of methods suggested for getting them to stick better - putting them on backwards and folding them back... Creasing the edge to make it more flush... I've tried some of them, but nothing really works better than putting them onto a clean shaft and paying attention (press them flat when they lift too much).
Note that if the tape is lifting from the carbon, that's probably more to do with the shaft not being properly prepared. It would be more common for the tape to lift off the vane, I think - especially with some of the Kurly patterns. For shaft cleaning, I would tend to use a non-bleach based scouring cream and water, rather than ipa.
As to the sticking together, I've seen dusting with talc suggested, but really, who cares that much.

By all means use wraps, but don't count on better adhesion. The convenience of premarked lines might be worth it (if the spacing is accurate for your shafts).

The bent vanes which use glue, are a different proposition, of course.
 

Graham Smith

Active member
AIUK Saviour
I've been using XS Wings for about 18 months on my ACC's. I bought wraps from Arrow Socks online. ( Their service is always superb ) The wraps have the lines marked on for the wings which makes things simple. I have never had one wrap come unstuck and I cleaned the shafts with nail polish remover before applying the wraps.
I don't find the wings coming loose except when I hit them with another arrow. With XS Wings you get the fixing tape and end tape supplied in the pack.
As for the arrows sticking together in your quiver, I did experience this at first but now whenever I apply a new wing I dust it with talc. That works a treat.
 

KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
Note that if the tape is lifting from the carbon, that's probably more to do with the shaft not being properly prepared.
This was my first thoughts when I used carbon arrows. But a few years of immaculate cleaning with surface prep, IPA and latex cloves to avoid any contamination, and starting to use carbon fibre at work with a whole new understanding of the material, I came to the conclusion that the carbon element and the epoxy element leave surface voids at a microscopic level whether the shafts are ground, polished or not. These voids would normally be good for gluing as they increase the surface area, but with vane tape I don't think the glue has the viscosity to fill all the voids in the carbon so the bonding area is actually reduced. The printed wrap surface is much smoother with fewer voids so the total bonding area is greater in comparison. Just my thoughts :)
 

jonUK76

Member
Thanks to all for the info. Very helpful. XS Wings are on my list of vanes I'd like to try in future, so good to know they are quite sturdy.
 

Mistake

New member
Ironman
I use wraps cause they look good and they help me forefill the requirement to have arrows initialed and numbered whilst looking smart (those little decal things look like garbage, you'll never convince me otherwise on this.)

They do also hold the Fletchings on well, but I've never had an issue with properly preparing the carbon to take the fletch directly either (although these days I don't need to do that as the wrap takes care of that part of proceedings)

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robert43

Member
I been using wraps for years with fletch's & kurly vanes . I like the look of wraps as I shoot field it helps some time . I dont like scraping glue etc . I dont use Kurly vanes any more too much of a pain in the bum & at my standards dosent make any difference . 1 trick I was told with Kurly etc was to stop stick to each other put them in a plastic bag with baby powder . It worked but then I gave up . To be honest I am a lazy fletcher hence reason why I use a AAE easy fletcher & put all 3 vanes on at once.
I make my own wraps plain just get some scrap sign writer vinyl material cheap as chips from a sign place
 

Senlac

Supporter
Supporter
I moved to wraps last year after 5 years without wraps. The good thing about wraps is they have the lines marked on them - and the lines don?t wear off (and they?re 120deg), whereas drawing them on a bare shaft with a pencil can be quite a bit different from 120deg. The only problem I?ve found with wraps is once you?ve stuck them on, if you want to rorate the shaft a bit and re-fletch, you have to replace the wrap.
 

Mistake

New member
Ironman
I moved to wraps last year after 5 years without wraps. The good thing about wraps is they have the lines marked on them - and the lines don?t wear off (and they?re 120deg), whereas drawing them on a bare shaft with a pencil can be quite a bit different from 120deg. The only problem I?ve found with wraps is once you?ve stuck them on, if you want to rorate the shaft a bit and re-fletch, you have to replace the wrap.
I would advise you to get the unmarked ones and make sure you spine your arrows before Fletching them, especially if you're using Carbon or AC arrows.

At 45m it was making the difference between being in centred in the target on a 60cm face and barely hitting the boss for me this summer.

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