Bow Refinish

[Canyon]

#6059

It always amazes me how good of condition the bows I see in pictures that are posted usually are. I do not consider it abuse but I use my Howard Hill bows hard running up and down Arizona’s ugliest Canyons and thickest brush in the worst of weather. Inevitably each hunt I get a ding,knick,scrath ot some other visual defect. My questions is when is it time to think about a refinish job or to repair these dings to insure the long lasting use of the tool? If you are refinsihing your own how are you doing it?

[Treetopflier]

#53900

Canyon — Since nobody else has responded, I’ll offer what little experience I have. For all-wood bows I’ve built, I finished with Minwax spray spar-urethane, 3 to 5 coats. For both wood and glass-backed bows, to repair small scratches and chips I use fingernail polish. To refinish the entire bow I use fine steelwool and 3 coats of Minwax. I know there are professional bow finishers out there. Maybe someone here can suggest one? I am about to attempt staining a bleached diamondback skin on one of my bows. It has 3 coats of professional finish over the skin, yet it somehow bleached too light to be good camo. I plan to sand it lightly to hold the oil stain, then use Minwax. I’ll let you know if it turns out OK, or is a disaster. Snuffy

[Chris Shelton]

#53958

I wish that someone would awnser too, because I need/want to refinish my oldest recurve, it has had years of torment, before I got it. It is currently retired, I hardly ever use it anymore. Because of all the gashes and scratches.

[Jason Wesbrock]

#54132

I would highly suggest not using urethane on a bow unless you know for a fact what woods the bow is made from and that urethane will cure on it. On certain exotic woods such as cocobolo and bacote, urethane will not dry. It will remain a tacky, sticky mess.

I have used urethane on some older recurves when I knew it would cure, but for the most part, I use Thunderbird epoxy finish on either my homemade recurves or older bows.

[William Warren]

#54228

I’m a proponent of not changing the “character” of my bows unless the damage threatens the integrity of the bow. Unless the finish is in really poor condition I would use a polishing compound to smooth scratches by hand and then apply a coat or 2 of wax. I just think your bow will be worth more with the original finish intact despite the occasional dings. But if you are seeking to restore a bow to its original condition maybe the manufacturer can help you with the original finish material or they may do it for you better than you could do it yourself. Just my thoughts.

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