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refinishing old bow

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Oldschool

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Thinking about refinishing an old bow that has been lying around. I don't have a clue how to even start. Any tips or directions would be appreciated.
 
I redid one once. be careful around the info stuff. you can easily strip it off.
the one I did I didnt completely strip to the wood/glass. it had been painted. once I got the paint off, the finish was dull. I used the stuff you put on gun stocks, TruOil.

how far down are you planning on stripping?
 
The finish is just dull with a couple of minor scratches. Hopefully, I will not have to strip very much. How, and what, did you use to strip it with?
 
since I was just removing paint, I used very fine steel wool, high grade alcohol(electrical grade used for cleaning connections)and elbow grease.

this is just a suggestion. if the scratches are just minor and the finish is dull, I would take some fine steel wool and buff it first to see if the scratches smooth out. then buff the whole bow,clean the dust off, then apply whatever finish you want to use.
steel wool will clog up. rotate/replace as needed. hang the bow by a small thin string by one of the tip string grooves, have that ready to do before you start applying the finish. that part is a little hard to do one handed, I know from experence.
also give PLENTY of time to dry. I didnt wait an extra day, the humidity was high and i didnt allow enough drying time before touching the bow. I had to buff out the finger prints and refinish that part.
 
I redone a old bear grizzly sevral years ago, it was in ruff shape when I started, the finish was cracked and ruff and had wood screws in it wher some one had tried to mount sites or a quiver.

I didnt get to agressive with the sanding,I was concerned that the heat genarated by sanding mite warp the limbs, and only went far enuff to remove the old finish and any places in the wood that needed slicked up.

The finish I used was minwax satin polyurathane (didnt want a shiny finish), make sure and wipe the wood down and remove the dust and feel for ruff spots, spray on your finish and let it dry real good, vary lightly resand it to remove any less than desirable places and give the next coat something to adhere to then recoat it agian, I gave mine about 4 thin coats.

To top it off I put on a new string, material on the shelf and a set of beaver balls (I still cant say beaver balls with a straight face), looks real good and a blast to shoot, have fun with your project.
 
Just sand it down with 150 to get old finish off. Then work down to 300 grit. Finish with true oil on the wood, apply with fingers, steel wool between coats the more coats the better the finish. Do not true oil the glass parts use poly on them. Steel wool the finished product if you want a flat finish. If not leave it glossy.
 

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