Refinishing my Drake hunter-flight.. Pics and ?'s

[Tyler C. Moore]

Finally got my Drake. It is a 'hunter flight'. It is right around  #42-44 @28 and handles my 29" draw.

Being so light and short it is a little tough to control as I am used to heavy risered recurves.

My question is, in several places the finish is gone and wood is exposed. There is a small crack in the shelf that I tried to picture, and the finish overall is stained and has small cracks.

The bear learhertop that was on it for years left to holes and some rough wood exposed

If I decided to refinish it, would the collectability be damaged, or should I just do it since there are finish problems?
Crack
   


Missing finish
   

Bear quiver holes
   

[damascusdave]

If you are content with not shooting it and just having it hang on the wall then leave it alone and call it a collectible for the future...if you are intending to shoot it refinish it

DDave

[Tyler C. Moore]

Started to sand it tonight, hope it comes out well

[Tyler C. Moore]

Slowly working on it

 

Filling holes with LC420
 


The limbs are in good shape, but the finish is dry. I used steel wool lightly and this is the outcome.
 
 Any suggestions on how to finish cleaning off these limbs,

and then how do I recoat them ??

[59Alaskan]

This bow will be beautiful!

[warpedarrow]

I will start off with a question.  What is the fibrous looking material on the back of the riser?  

The old finish is still plainly visible on the limb glass.  You have taken a small amount of it off but there is still a lot there.  You have to decide whether you want to take it down to the glass or just sand out and feather in the uneven spots.  To help in your decision you can hit it with a light coat of gloss spar urethane.  You will know just that quick if the appearance is good enogh to suit you.  If you decide to take it down to the glass, the one coat of urethane will not create much more sanding.

I use 150 grit when working on the limb glass.  Just sand away the shiny or yellowed finish until the limbs look about the same color all over.  Check closely under a good light for any missed places then start spraying or rubbing on new finish.  That wood in the riser has some quite deep pockets in the grain so it will take many coats and sanding between coats to fill them.  Some guys rubs a couple of coats of supper glue on the riser to speed filling the grain.  Personally, I don't do that..  I use 400 grit wet or dry when I sand between coats.  I try to put on two coats in fifteen to thirty minutes then come back and wet sand  the next day and blow the bow off with compressed air and then repeat.  It may take me several weeks to get the depth that I want in the finish.  I figure a few weeks every fifty or sixty years on an old bow is not excessive.

[Tyler C. Moore]

That fiberous material is duct tape haha. Was just trying to not sand the limbs yet.

I will try the single coat on the limb. They werebt even that bad, I just kind of jumped the gun in sanding as I want this bow to look like it used to. It is to cool to not be perfect. Thanks

[TonyW]

On a "Drake" you call it "duck" tape.    

[K. Mogensen]

[4runr]

If you want it to look like new, don't bother spraying anything on it until you sand off all the old finish.
I have refinished lots in the same condition yours is in, and the old finish can't be blended. Do not be afraid to sand on the glass a little with 150 grit. You won't hurt it unless you go crazy. As you start to sand the finish off the glass, you will feel as well as hear, and smell when you get to the glass.
 After the finish is all off I switch to 220 grit and re-sand the entire bow going with the grain.

I use wipe-on poly as my finish. It is very durable, has a nice sheen without being glossy and is very easy to apply. I can recoat 2-3 times a day if I want and it'll fill in the grain nicely.
I've used as few as 5 coats and as many as 20 coats depending if I'm going over new transfers.