Bear Bow Restoration

[tomsm44]

Hey everybody.  I'm new to Trad Gang so I hope I get everything right when posting this.  

I have a Bear Black Bear, 60" 35#, that belonged to my uncle before he passed away that I want to try to restore.  It's in pretty good condition as far as performance goes, it just primarily has a lot of wear and tear.  I've never tried restoring a bow before, so I'll try to be as detailed as I can in what I need to know.  

1. What is the easiest/best way to get the old finish off without damaging the limb glass?

2. What is a good finish to use to refinish the bow?

3. Where can I get replacement decals to put on the bow before I apply the new finish?

4. Is there any way to get the plastic medalion out without damaging it or the bow, and if so, can I get a replacement or would it be easier to just repaint the old one and glue it back in?

5. There are two holes drilled on the belly of the bow beside the sight window with small cracks in the glass beside them.  What would work best to fill the holes before refinishing?

6. The threaded bushing on the back of the bow is rusted/corroded to the point that it is not usable.  Is there any where that I can get a replacement, and if so, what is the best way to get the old one out?

I'll try to post some pictures of the bow to show the issues that I'm trying to repair.  This is a really fun bow to shoot and I would like to get it looking as good as possible and as near to original as possible.  If I get the info I need and decide I can get everything I need without it getting too expensive, I'll try to post some after pics once I'm finished.  It may be a while, but hopefully I'll get there eventually.

Also, does anybody know what kind of wood was used on these bows?

Thanks, Matt

[Bjorn]

Go to the collector page there is an extensive Bear restoration guide. Just look at some of the thread titles.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Originally posted by Bjorn:
Go to the collector page there is an extensive Bear restoration guide. Just look at some of the thread titles.

Good advice there. You can get replacement Bear coins and I think that 3rivers may have them? I've got 2 old Bears but they really aren't in bad shape like the one you described. On the glass I would buff lightly with fine grit sandpaper to rough up the original then refinish with Tru Oil, the rest you described I'm not sure about. I'd treat it like a vintage piece of history and take each step slowly by researching every avenue I could find before proceeding. There's also a "Bow Doc" here on trad gang that specializes in restoration, but for the life of me I can't remember his username.

[tomsm44]

Thanks guys.  I'll check out the collector page.  Guess I can post any questions that I don't find any answers to there.