Cloudiness in the glass

[LongStick64]

I have a couple of older bows that show some cloudiness in the glass, what causes that, any concern.

[Spectre]

Is it uniformly all over the bow, or is it just in spots? Pics?

[Walt Francis]

Others have had better encounters then me but here is my experience: I had cloudiness in the glass on a longbow once and ignored it.  Pulled the bow back and the top, belly glass/lam delaminated; it went through the web between my thumb and pointer finger and stopped at the base of my pinky.  The doctor couldn't believe it didn't cut any of my finger tendons.  Personally, I wouldn't ignore it.  Have it checked by a good bowyer.

[eman614]

is it a new problem, or have they been that way all along? sometimes the glass is cloudy before it is put on the bow, and there is nothing that can be done. worst part of that is, you can't really tell until after the bow has been glued up.

[Killdeer]

Sometimes, the cloudiness is from a coating of wax getting damp. Did you wax your bow like everybody says you should?

Killdeer

[jhg]

Sometimes it is caused by sunlight degrading the material. That light may not always be direct either. If the time of exposure is long enouugh (yrs) reflected light can do it too. Many clear polyesters and certainly epoxies don't fair well under ultraviolet exposure.

Obviously we can't hunt with our clear glass bows in a sock, but some awareness can help head off the inevitable. It would take a heck of a lot of hunting and being on the range to cloud a bow if you took care not to lay the bow down in direct sun, for example.

 I think in 50 years this is going to be a big topic concerning bows made recently using a clear glass that has no UV inhibitors in the epoxy or finish. Bows stored openly in a bright room and/or carelessly left in full sun a lot will be the likely canidates for conversation.
I just ordered a clear bow myself, so am not too worried about it.

Joshua

[Gene Charbonneau]

I seem to remember back around 10 years ago that a lot of bowyers were complaining that the raw glass fiber from Gordon was looking quite cloudy after being laid up. This particular issue was just cosmetic.  I have owned several newer bows that had this condition.  It can really make a pretty bow look "not so pretty".

That being said, I have no doubt that some of the cloudiness issues may be an actual physical problem.  If in doubt I would have someone knowledgeable check it out, for safety sake.

Best wishes.

Gene