I need help brothers and sisters of the bow. I finally have a full weekend off after 3 months (Oct 17-19) I plan on hunting 2-1/2 days in the Mississippi Delta. my weapon of choice is my trusty 2002 Bear Kodiak Magnum . it just has one minor flaw; the clear coat has been rubbed off in a few spots and develops temporary water marks when im caught in a rain storm. I have decided to reseal it with Minwax Helmsmen spar urethane " clear satin" so it can still be eye candy and yet have a dull finish that wont spook my quarry .

how do I go about prepping my k-mag for this process and how to I apply the clear coats without smears runs or etc.? how do I coat it without it laying on anything. how many coats will she need?. please teach me. thank you for your time!

Well, my expertise is in sealing wooden lures so they don't lose their paint. In the 90s, my finishes were the best in the business. People here do not finish bows like I did lures, but I'll add my 2 cents for your consideration. I'd start by lightly sanding the areas where the finish rubbed off. I'd use a 300 grit sanding sponge at the roughest. You might want to go even finer. I'd then brush on Sherwinn Williams INTERIOR sanding sealer and let it soak in. Don't use exterior sealers, they're crap. After it dries, lightly sand it with 600 grit paper. It will feel glass smooth. Then, you can apply your clear coat. Whether brushed or sprayed, put on very light coats to avoid runs. I've never heard a bow finisher here use sanding sealer, but the interior sealers seal the wood and hold exterior paints well.

Joe

Chance,us some crafting small copper wire to hang with. I hang mine from bottom. Wrap around nock grooves. The copper is soft so it it is easy on the glass edges. Jeff F

I use a sanding sealer on a lot of bows especially rosewood and other open grains. Some folks continue to build the finish until everything is sealed but I prefer to seal the wood first.

Just sand your bow to knock off the shine, feather in the worn spots and then do as Frisky said.

What the others have said. Hold the spray nozzle at least a foot and probably 18 inches or more away from the area to be sprayed and move the can back and forth. One or two light passes should do it per coat. Probably take about three or four coats with very light sanding between.

I also hang the bow but simply use a coat hanger. You have not mentioned where the flaw is on the bow. Mi wax Helmsman is excellent choice. I do t like the spray, I always seem to get bubbles. I use Minwas WIPE-On Poly. Describe the size of the flaw and its location and I'll walk you through it. doing a single area small area will not bring the bow back to its original lustre. So where is the flaw.

I don't use fine wire because it will kind of get stuck in the string knocs sometimes.I like more the diameter of a coat hanger and then I twist it into a loop.If you like you can also hang the bow top limb up spray a couple coats let it dry for 24 hours and then flip the bottom up and spray the upper. As for finish there are at least 2,000 different clear coat wood finishes.Some that are easy to use like wipe on poly's or or oil base finish like Birchwood & Casey tru oil gun stock finish.If its good enough for gun stocks its plenty good for a recurve or long bow and yes B & C gun stock finish works equaly as well on fiberglass as it does on the wood. Next would be the bomb can aka rattle can type finishes which are great if you have no compresser.I would also like to mention 20 super super thin coats are far better the 3 thick coats bd

I have had good success wiping on Tru Oil that my friend the bowdoc described above. I do not use the spray Tru Oil it does not dry well on some woods.

little trick Bjorn told me about some years ago when using wipe on finishes like tru oil or poly apply them with something like a coffee filter or equal ....... meaning they are lint free.Remember super super thin coats no matter what you apply bd

my bow gets water spots on it during the rain and I was told it was due to a thin finish on the bow and the finish has peeled off a small bit near the bottom edge of the riser near the lower fade and at the very tip of the top limb above the noch . I want to take care of my bow so I want to fix it now before it gets too bad. will sanding my bow drop its poundage ?

I've refinished many bows with minwax spar in the rattle can. Just give it a real good sanding. The grit I use is based on the finish that's already in place. One some of the old Bear recurves the finish was pretty thick and glossy. On those I'd start at 150 and go up to 220. If it has less finish to start with I might start with 220 and go up to 400. Wipe it down with a tack cloth and then apply very thin coats about 45 minutes apart. Generally a half dozen thin coats is fine. I've had no issues at all with any of the bows I've built or refinished and they've been out win all types of weather with them.

Don't worry about losing poundage. You won't be removing bow material, just finely buffing the current finish. The bare spots won't lose a significant amount of material either, since your sandpaper should be very fine. As stated above, 300 grit or finer. I've had excellent success with Helmsman spar. I use high gloss for all coats until the final spray, which you can finish with any level of sheen. High gloss is nice and tough. The more matte it is, the softer the finish. Whatever you choose, I would do it as soon as possible. Water (even changes in humidity) causes expansion and contraction which will destroy your bow.

I've had great luck with a exterior spray finish from True Value. I apply a couple LIGHT coats of gloss and then several light coats of satin. Has held up well for me.

Frisky, 2 cents is a high figure for your consideration! LOL)

Skookum- If you knew how to finish wood like I do, we wouldn't have to worry about all these flaky finishes. I'm the master. I learned how to keep paint on my wooden lures, in spite of them being in the water, day after day, year after year, used by fanatical muskie fishermen. You bowyers best listen to me!

Joe

For some reason, I feel under-appreciated around here.

Joe

Or is that unappreciated?

Joe

Frisky, why would a bowyer listen to you; you are an admitted fisherman, self described as an expert, which everyone knows that fishermen are magnificent prevaricators.

The only time fisherman lie is when discussing the size of a fish. My general rule is to take what they say and divide by 2. So, ten pounds equals 10 divided by 2 equals 5 pounds. 30 inch length? 30 divided by 2 equals 15 inches. The formula works well and can be apply to 300 round scores too.

Joe

Frisky, if by using your own formula of "DIVIDE BY 2," then your 2 cents of advice that you gave this thread author is in reality only worth 1 miserable penny.

Put another way: 1 "Holy Grail" bow divided by 2 equals just an ordinary grail bow!

NO NO NO! You got it all wrong. Holy Grail divided by 2 equals Holy. My bow is Holy. Hallowed is the word. I'm proud to own it!

Joe

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here