My first question is would I be able to purchase the new logos from Bear for this 1959 Polar. My second question is what is the best finish for this bow. The bow is in good shape with tips that are in good condition.I plan on bow hunting with the bow this year and I am worried about moisture as the original finish is showing some crazing where the bow bends above the fades. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Ken

best/cheapest/easiest to apply finish for a bow is spray on wheel paint IMO

Just make you you prep it get and wipe it down with denatured alc to get all the hand oils off before you spray.

Contact Al Harford for decals. [email protected]

There are many good finishes you can use. If you do a search here you'll find several discussions.

By far, the easiest finish to apply, and achieve good results, is a wipe on polyurethane like Minwax. An equal alternative is Tru-Oil. Both are economical. The wipe on polyurethane comes in three choices of sheen ranging from flat to high gloss.

thanks

Ken: I refinished two old Bear Tigercats -- one with Minwax Helmsman spar varnish and one with VHT high temperature clear automobile wheel "paint". Both came from spray cans. Both turned out well. Sand lightly, first, with fine sandpaper and then clean with alcohol.

If you are going to sand the bow clean you can use the wheel paint or Minwax Clear Enamel. I did an old Hunter with the Minwax and it was by far the fastest rattle can stuff that I have ever used. I put on about five coats in one afternoon. Dry to the touch in about twenty minutes and lays out flat. Don't use any of the products with high flash points unless you have the bow completely free of old finish. The old stuff will bubble and you will have a mess on your hands.

You can just steel wool a little and wipe on tru oil or poly without taking it all the way down and messing up the decals. It won't look like new...but you can fix the crazing (sometimes completely).

Brad, when you say Minwax, do you mean the Minwax Polyacrylic water base in a can ?

John, how coarse of steel wool did you use ?

I think mine are 000 and 0000 steel wool. And I cleaned with acetone as I worked on it

No. It is called clear enamel.. It is not a polyurethane. The stuff smells like fingernail polish going on. Google it

thanks

Brad Lehmann: I cannot seem to find this Minwax Clear Enamel that you aRe speaking of. Maybw it's just me; but are you sure you have the name right?

I tried the VHT wheel paint clear satin on two bows. The paint frosted on the glass of both bows. Stripped them and reapplied and the same thing, looked good on the wood but the glass was frosted. The problem was probably too much moisture. I will use what I have left for sealing oily woods but never again on glass. I have used Minwax polly satin with good results in the past but have found a better product that won't yellow and is for outdoor use. Check this out..... McCloskey 7555 Man O War Spar Marine Varnish. Best price I found was from Amazon.

James

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