And can anyone date it.

Goo bee gone

Really I tried paint thinner and steel wool and that barely did anything

Looks like an early 70's Howatt. You can use a commercial stripping solvent, but it might take some of the finish off. Try it in a spot where it wouldn't be too noticeable, like the grip.

Lacquer thinner. Only do it in a well ventilated space.

Ok I'll try lacquer thinner

Here is the order in which to try solvents. 1.WD-40 or Goo-Gone 2.Mineral Spirits 3. Denatured Alcohol or Heat gas line dryer (100% isopropyl alcohol) 4."Paint Thinner" 5. Lacquer Thinner 6. MEK 7.Acetone (pretty strong, use outside on a rag vary sparingly) 8. "Paint Stripper" (be prepared to do a complete re- sand and re-finish if you use stripper). Just be careful and do a little at a time.

I have had good luck with aerosol carburetor cleaner on a rag. Be careful because it too can damage the finish underneath. Wear gloves and good luck!

I've done it with acetone several times

I would try Denatured Alcohol with a 3M pad, first and then Acetone. The Alcohol should remove that rattle can paint by breaking the bond with the clear finish, but it will take a while. It will also be the least damaging to the Bow.

Oh..and I used rags with the acetone. I only use steel wool to get rid of finish cracks

bought a browning A5 for$150 because it was painted. turned out to be bowflage and come of easy. looked like your bow. cant remember what I used to remove it....ron

Outside, rubber gloves, Scotch Brite and acetone. Use cotton rags or paper towels to removed paint that has desolved. I wouldn't use this on todays bow finishes, though.

I used Formby's Refinisher and green Scotch Brite pad. Not as strong as stripper but got good results.

Whatever you use, read the ingredients. Guys on here use the brands Goo Gone and Goof Off as the same thing, and they are far from the same thing. Goo Gone is citrus based and will likely not do much with that heavy paint. Goof Off is more like lighter fluid, and you never want to use it inside, especially a closed area.

Denatured alcohol, paint thinner, are also highly volatile and flammable, so just use some sense. I would think some paint thinner and steel wool would be a good place to start...outside in a well ventilated area.

I would paint the rest of the bow to give a finished look and then look for a similar bow in original condition. Good chance whoever painted it was covering up a finish issue. I just got a factory camo Bear and realized how easy it will be to paint into any colour I want. Just need some spray cans and masking.

DDave

I've taken different paints off dozens of bows using lacquer thinner and rags. Works great but do it in open spaces.

I have used MinWax Refinisher, 0000 steel wool and a roll of paper towels with good results.

I did my 68 Bear K.H. and the original finish was untouched. I have also used it to take the paint off of dozens of Bear arrows with no harm to the wood.

I used rifle bore cleaner to remove paint off a Hill bow. It did a good job of removing the paint. Bore cleaner should not hurt your finish. Try it on a small area to start.

God only knows what paint is on the bow. You are aware that anything stronger than the paint thinner will take off any other finish? Years ago hunters regarded their bows as tools and used whatever was laying around to camo their bows. Even latex house paint was used. That stuff cost me a refinish on a bow because I used all the above mentioned chemicals to no avail. I did manage to get the finish off with "Lestoil" which in itself was some strong stuff. I had to have it "bootlegged" into CA. even in 1980 it was banned there by CA. EPA.

Most bows back then were painted because they were shiny....not because there was something wrong with the finish. Folks weren't enamored with fancy as they are nowadays. Likely it's beautiful underneath that paint, so don't be in a hurry and mess it up. LOL.

Here's that Kodiak with the Forby's Refinisher at work. It dulled the finish but didn't remove it. I redid it with Tru-Oil anyway.

A lot of folks don't know that you can cut acetone with water to reduce the strength of it. If it starts to soften the finish add a bit of water to tone it down a bit then try again.

I've had good luck with the citrus stripper stuff from Walmart. Orange color stuff.

Another vote for acetone and 0000 wool. Acetone breaks down paint very quickly. Thin as above if it is too fast. Once the bond is blown it will come off easily.

If they lightly sanded and then painted it, it could be bed liner. If so, good luck. Shawn

Goo begone

Goo begone

Wait until the Bodymanbowyer is healed and send it to him. :-D That's what I would do anyhow.

-Bones

I have been using this with decent results. No overpowering fumes, low odor. Plus, you don't have to worry about the solvent compromising the glue lines.

Oops works great.

I like the Ready Strip because I don't end up with a lot of sanding marks I have to sand out.

There's a difference between removing the paint and refinishing the bow. Most strippers and sanding will cut through the original finish. With all the bows I've taken paint off of using lacquer thinner I've never damaged the original finish. Every bow I've seen made after the mid-60s used some type of two part finish that was impervious to lacquer thinner. On some bows the original finish was crackled and needed to be removed but that wasn't caused by the lacquer thinner.

I have never had acetone affect any bow finish. I did use lacquer thinner to remove camo paint from a bow I had refinished with Deft lacquer.... and the finish went bye-bye along with the paint.

It's Goo Gone not goo begone. AK I didnt know about mixing water with acetone! Never thought I needed it thinned. I use acetone because I NEEDED acetone lol.

Acetone will affect some finishes, especially the older ones. It will cut paint much faster than finish so being able to tone it down a bit so it just eats paint can be handy.

Carb cleaner jeffw

Thanks everyone I cleaned it up rather nice. Steel wool and acetone made it very easy and this bow is awesome. It's 70 lb @28. And gains 10 lbs per inch over I'm drawing 30" and getting real close to 90 lb. It's the fastest bow I have ever seen

Any ideas on how to fill those 2 holes so it will match the original finish.

I would probably leave them. If you do bondo or wood filler, you'll have to sand and maybe refinish if you aren't careful

There are many ways to fill those holes. If you're going to refinish the bow there are options that will make the holes very hard to see. If not, you can just fill them with epoxy. Mix some color into it that will match. You can use a colored wax or putty stick to match also. If you have a similar wood you can use some sawdust mixed with the epoxy. One tip is to use a countersink or a drill bit larger than the holes and very carefully put a light chamfer on the holes so the area around them is not raised.

If you haven't done anything similar to this repair before talk to a furniture repair person and see how they do that on furniture. They can makes marks on very expensive furniture disappear.

Ok I really don't want to refinish it. But those holes are hideous

When the holes are in the wood part I've seen Rich Lopez cut two 1/4" holes with a hole cutter over the holes. Then he cut pieces of matching wood with the hole cutter and glued them into the holes with the grain running the same way. Then he sanded them down and applied stain if needed and then finish. They looked pretty good.

If you are a little adventurous....I've plugged up screw holes on guitars a few ways. I have stuffed holes with mini toothpicks and wood glue, allow to dry, then flush cut and spot sand and stain or paint to hide or sometimes contrasting looks less sloppy.

I have also drilled holes out slightly and plugged them with 'mini dowels' and glue

Have also used chopsticks....

Ok I appreciate it maybe I will try the chopstick deal and just have a contrast in color it would be better than 2 nasty holes.

About those two holes, there is another option. I had a beautiful Ben Pearson Mercury Hunter. It had one 1/4" hole on the same side of the riser as yours. I took a piece of antler and recessed/glued a plastic automotive push fastener head into the back of the antler. The antler piece was cut in half so it laid flush against the riser. Then I pushed into the hole and it looked like it came that way from the factory. Adapting something you like with two small push plugs shouldn't be too hard to do, and you wouldn't have to touch the finish. What you could put on your bow to cover the holes could be a fun challenge.

"Goop Off" cleaned up my 71 Bear recurve just fine and it was painted way back when. Used a Scotch brite pad and finished the project in one weekend. Looks great and shoots better than many newer bows I've tried.

Try gluing some brass inserts in the holes it will look better and you wont have to refinish.

Re-drill the holes cleanly at 3/16" diameter and cut two short pieces of a 3/16" poplar dowel just shorter then the hole depth. Make sure the dowel end grain is sanded and very smooth. Carefully glue them in place, grain running to match the bow wood, making sure to remove any glue off of the dowel ends. Use Titebond II.

Set the dowels deep enough to use drops of clearcoat to bring it to the surface level of the bow finish. Use a paper punch to punch holes in masking tape to place over the holes but protect the surrounding bow finish while you do this. Before sealing, stain the dowels to match the bow wood. Use several droplet steps to fill the final depth of clearcoat. It will be better than using heavy droplet coats or one droplet coat. When completely filled at or above the original clearcoat level, carefully sand or steel wool to blend the finish. Use 1000 grit or higher wet/dry sandpaper.

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