How to Refinish a Composite Recurve Bow
Many bows have components comprised of separate materials to provide stability and encourage a lighter weight. These are called composite recurve bows, and they are popular for hunting and target archery. If you would like to refinish a composite recurve bow, you'll have to employ different strategies based on the surface you are working on. To promote adhesion, you'll need to take specific steps to abrade the surface or you will end up with a finish that won't hold up over time. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Dish soap
- Coarse plastic brush
- 400-grit sandpaper
- Blue painter's tape
- Heavy-duty fabric drop-cloth
- Spray bonding primer
- Acrylic spray paint
- Spray etching primer
Instructions
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Refinish Metallic Composite Recurve Bows
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1
Wash the surface of the metallic composite recurve bow with dish soap and a coarse plastic brush. Allow the bow to dry before continuing.
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2
Cover the parts of the bow you don't want painted with painter's tape.
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3
Put the bow on top of a fabric drop cloth, and apply a thin coat of etching primer. Spray the composite recurve bow in intermittent, brief bursts. Do not apply in a constant, steady fog as this will promote runs in the finish.
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4
Let the etching primer cure for at least four hours. Apply a coat of acrylic paint in the same manner as you did the primer in Step 3.
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5
Let the paint dry for two hours, and then apply an additional coat.
Refinish Non-Metal Composite Recurve Bows
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6
Wash the surface of the composite recurve bow with dish soap and a coarse plastic brush. Allow the bow to dry before continuing.
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7
Let the bow dry, and then scour the surface with 400-grit sandpaper, effectively abrading the bow to promote adhesion.
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8
Cover the parts of the bow you don't want painted with painter's tape.
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9
Put the bow on top of a fabric drop cloth, and apply a thin coat of spray bonding primer. Spray the bow in intermittent, brief bursts. Do not apply in a constant, steady fog as this will promote runs in the finish.
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10
Let the bonding primer dry for two hours. Apply a coat of acrylic paint in the same manner as you did the bonding primer in step four. Let the paint dry for two hours, and then apply an additional coat.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Some composite recurve bows are comprised of metal and non-metal components. If this is the case with yours, you will need to coat the non-metal portions with a bonding primer, and abrade the metallic portions by coating them with an etching primer.
Never attempt to paint a metallic composite recurve bow without applying an etching primer first, or you will end up with adhesion difficulties.
Resources
- Photo Credit sandpapier image by Thomas Aumann from Fotolia.com
