I have two osage bows I made in 2009. I am going to flip the tips on them. Do I need to take the finish off the whole limb. I am going to shorten them due to the tips being super narrow and I am trying to get a little more zip. I have two static osage recurves, copies of Pat's, and they zing an arrow. Thanks, Don

I have flipped tips on bows finished with Tru Oil and poly. Neither was stripped and neither had any damage done to the finish. I heated slow from a fair distance and it worked perfectly.

Both of these have Deft on them. I usually use some olive oil and heat till the osage turns kind of red. Probably to much heat. Don

To get them hot enough to get a good bend you probably should remove the finish first but I guess it is not necessary.

Turn your heat gun on LOW and keep it at least 8-10" from the area. Let it sit on that spot for at least 10-12 minutes. Make your bend slowly and let her cool. Dont touch that are if you dont have to, the finish will be gummy/tacky and your finger prints will stay............dont ask how I know this Don. I always give the bow another quick wipe down of Tru Oil afterwards just to be sure there are no problems to the finish I cant see.