Removing Snake Skins from bow limbs

BighornTn · January 28, 2008, 09:23:00 PM

Quick question does anyone know how to take snake skins off of bow limbs. I put some skins on a bow of mine a few years ago and use Tite bond wood glue with some rattler and they are really not up to par. I want to remove and put some Skin ezz on instead. Help!!! Rick J

LKH · January 28, 2008, 09:52:00 PM

We just replaced mine and did nothing more than peel it, scrape it somewhat, clean with acetone, let dry and then used rubber cement to put the new ones on. Never even took all the old glue off. I'd stay away from the Tite Bond. It dries and can cause the skins to crack.

BighornTn · January 28, 2008, 10:01:00 PM

Larry,
Thanks for the reply. I really am a rookie at skins so this was really my first attempt at putting some on. Someone suggested Tite Bond II.

Robhood23 · January 28, 2008, 10:04:00 PM

When you take the skins off how does the limbs look underneath. I have a set I am thinking about pulling the skins off. Can I just clean them up or do I have to get them refinished?

LKH · January 28, 2008, 10:37:00 PM

We put the skin on by putting the glue on and letting it set on both surfaces, then placing popsickle sticks about every 3 inches across the bow surface. THe bow is held in a vice. Lay the skin along the stick.

Then attach the end near the riser, cut to fit and lift the skin to aline it to the bow. Then go to the riser and start pulling the sticks while ensuring the skin remains alined. push it down and after trimming, you're done.

JDinPA · January 28, 2008, 11:06:00 PM

Rick,
I put a set of skins on a recurve and I didn't like the way they looked.
I scraped the limbs with a razor blade and pulled the skins off by hand. I then sanded them as if I was going to apply skins. I then put 4 coats of sealer on the limbs. The bow is in my avatar and you can't tell it ever had skins on it.
JD

BighornTn · January 29, 2008, 07:12:00 AM

JD,
That is good to hear. You guys are making me feel a little better about doing this now. Thanks for all your suggestions. Rick J

Orion · January 29, 2008, 11:26:00 AM

You can slip a single edge razor blade under the skin and run it along the skin to take it off. Then lightly sand with 320 grit on a sanding block. At that point, can put on new skins, or spray a couple coats of finish on before applying the stick on artificial skins. By the way Tite Bond II is an excellent glue for attaching skins. I've used it for more than a dozen bows over the past 10 plus years. Never had it a skin loosen or crack.

BighornTn · January 31, 2008, 08:50:00 PM

Jerry,
Thanks for the info. I have been out of town on business for a couple of days. I appreciated all the good advice you guys give. Rick J

baretraks · January 31, 2008, 10:34:00 PM

I had one that started peeling, I just run the knife under it carefully until it was all off. I dont know what kind of glue was on it, but it was black and hard as a rock, it took me a long time to scrape it off.....when I got finished, the bow was in bad shape. It looked like they had used sixty grit sandpaper on the limbs, they were deeply scratched. To fix this, I sanded them with 600 grit wet sandpaper until they were smooth again, then applied about three coats of turtle wax to even out the finish. When I was finished, you had to really look at the bow to be able to see the flaws. The stuff will come off, but it takes a while.

BighornTn · February 06, 2008, 02:57:00 PM

thanks William. I took some of the advice here and the skins came off and all had to do was sand a few places where the tite Bond glue was built up. I put the Skinezz on and they look great!! RJ