Home › Forums › Bows and Equipment › Bear "Cub" restoration help requested
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I have recently obtained a Bear “Cub” recurve. It is pretty dirty from neglect. I think I can read the serial number as “5R3293”, the AMO as “62”, and the draw as “46#” but all are very hard to read due to the dirt. There is currently a string on it which measures 56 inches. I have not tried stringing it yet. The front side of the bow appears to be a smooth dark green and seems to just be very dirty. The belly looks like it may have been repainted as it appears to be a speckled medium green with very light green patches around the grip (possible white at one time?). The riser sides look to be a dark wood but that may just be grime. There appears to be a lighter color wood laminate in the limbs.
I want to restore this bow (and use it) if that is possible, but I would love to know a little more about it as well. My questions are: (1)Was this bow available in dark green? (2) Is the speckled medium green/patchy light green on the belly someone’s attempt at repainting or original color that has worn off oddly? (3)What is the best way to remove old tape residue and years of caked-on grime without damaging what might be the original finish? (4)Is it possible that the actual draw weight is 46# or should it be 40#? (5)Is the 56 inch string possibly correct?
Any information on the bow or the planned restoration would be appreciated. Thanks.
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My recurve was covered in tape residue that formed a grimy film after the tape fell off. I left it like that for a few years and used the grime as camo, as it covered up the shiny finish on the bow. I got tired of that appearance and decided to clean it up last year and paint it.
To remove the grime I used Varsol. I do not know if that is available in the States but it is pretty much the same as methyl hydrate. It cleaned the grime off and did not hurt the finish at all. You might want to try that.
If you do, test it in a small area first before doing the whole bow.
Do not use any form of paint remover. Paint remover will take the finish off and damage the fiberglas. Learned that the hard way on a take down bow handle, that had a couple short decorative fiberglas lams on it. I was able to sand it smooth and refinish it so no harm done.
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Thanks, Berniebac. I did a little searching on “Varsol” since I had never heard the term before. Turns out in the US it could be also known as one of several other products. “White spirit (UK) or mineral spirits (US), also known as mineral turpentine, turpentine substitute, petroleum spirits, solvent naphtha (petroleum), varsol, Stoddard solvent, or, generically, “paint thinner”, is a petroleum-derived clear liquid used as a common organic solvent in painting and decorating.” (Wikipedia) I had someone recommend a US product called “Goo Gone” to try as they had successfully used it to clean a bow. I know “Goo Gone” pretty well as I use it for other applications (not sure why it didn’t come to me for this – brain fade maybe). So now I have a few directions I can go in. Certainly will be proceeding slowly. May even try just plain hot water and Dawn dish detergent first. If Dawn is safe enough for animal cleanup after an oil spill, it’s probably OK for an old recurve. Thanks again.
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Oh yes, Goo Gone. That would probably be a good choice and the Dawn might work, but I think I would use Goo Gone first.
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Thanks again. I’ll be trying both approaches this weekend. One or the other should work to at least cut through the base grime. Then I can reassess the situation as I think there has been some repainting or overpainting in the past on this bow.
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I have two Cubs that I am working on as well. I’ve been using goo gone, sparingly, and it seems to be working well for me.
My cubs are the longbow variety. If someone can verify, I think they switched to recurve in 1954(?).
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