I was thinking of a re finish on my bow. Can I just steel wool it down and then add a new top coat? and what topcoat would work best? thanks for any help.
You would need to know what it was finished with. A lot of finishes are not compatable and could make for a mess. I usually sand all the finish off but it is a lot of work. Don
Its a HH Tembo and is fairly old, how would I go about finding what finish it was? Thanks Tim
I have resealed several glass bows. I take them down to raw wood and glass. I have never lost draw weight or screwed up a tiller. Go easy with the sand paper on the glass. I finish the glass with 400 grit and the wood with 220 grit. Then spray with Helsman of your flavor. I have done a half dozen this way. The cloudy glass goes away with the first spray. These are all my opinions and some may disagree.
The old finish needs to be removed (by sanding)and refinished just like it was a new bow. All the chemical "finish removers" I've tried ate the fiberglass resin. Even if you are sure the finishes are compatable who wants a double or triple thick finish on their bow. It just adds weight and the extended problem of maybe crackling, especially in cold weather.
If the original finish is in "decent" condition there is no reason IMHO to sand it down to the wood. I've done it both ways a number of times and I'm sold on leaving the original finish on if possible and sanding it with 320grit to 600grit and using very light coats of Tru-oil as my finish coat.
Good luck
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Glenn