I want to paint/refinish my bow this year.  I bought my bow used a few years ago and it has black painted limbs and the natrual wood finish for the riser.  The finish is almost all peeled off.  I woulnt mind painting the whole bow black or if painting is not an option i would atleast like to refinish it to protect it from water.  I had camo tape on the riser and hand grip for the last few years.  What would my best options be. I would like to sand it, paint it an finish it with some sort of non shiney or glossy finish to protect it

Please give me some advice on what I could do.

do you have any pics of the bow?

I do not have access to a picture at this point  i will try sometime to add one

is it a self bow or laminated glass

Do a super simple camo job:

http://sticknstring.webs.com/simplebowcamo.htm

i have a damon howatt recurve  i think the limbs are laminated fiberglass

I am now considering sanding the whole bow until it is smooth and then use tru oil to finish it.  On the last coat I would use steel wool or somthing else to take the glare out of the finish.  I might buy this kit  Birchwood Casey Complete Tru-Oil Gun Stock Finish Kit

I wouldnt have minded painting it but i think the paint would crack

You can remove the paint with acetone based fingernail polish remover also.  It might be a better bet if you want to keep the stickers and lettering on it.  It won't remove any weight from the bow either as sanding would if you want to keep it at where it is.  I like the same Tru-oil that you have listed.
-Jay

so how much weight could you loose by sanding the limbs?  I'm in the process off refinishing a 71 grizzly, and was wondering if I was affecting the draw weight by my sanding.

I've lose a couple pounds on the ones I've sanded.

what would i use to clean off my bow prior to adding the tru-oil

I go over the bow with a rag to get the majority of the dust off then go over it again with a little acetone on a rag to remove the remaining dust.  Be sure to use very thin coats of tru-oil.