Grip rework question

[Pine]

When reworking the grip on a Bear Super Grizzly , can you finish the area where sanded only or do you have to refinish the whole bow ?

[Orion]

Depends.  If you can match the finish well, only need to do the grip, feathering out the last few coats of finish further up and down the riser.  If the finishes don't jibe in sheen or texture, will need to spray the rest of the bow to match.

[Hud]

You can do the handle only, when done sanding, a scraper will remove sanding marks. Remove the dust and apply Mini Wax Polyurethane, urethane, or Wipe on Poly. Sand between coats and remove the dust each time. I figure 3 to 6 coats depending on how much sanding you do between coats. Try a spot or two to see if the finish will match.

[Pine]

I was wondering if if the poly might work , I have some I use for arrows .

[M60gunner]

I did pretty much what Hud said. But I sanded down from the 80 grit I used on the wheel to rework the grip to 180. Then I "sanded in " the finish with the poly (satin) and 220 wet/dry paper. The slurry made with the dust and finish work into any unfilled pores. I wipe down and let dry and do 320 grit the same way, then 400 grit. Let dry at least 12 hours and buff out with a dry cloth. Lots of work but the finish is as smooth as a babies butt. I also put on a coat of wax.

[Pine]

Thanks for the input , I used the poly with a cloth , sanding between coats and 0000 steel wool to blend in the gloss level . Came out nearly perfect .

[Rob DiStefano]

worth repeating from a post i made on the bear montana thread.  do not refinish the bow, only the area you worked on.  when you refinish that area, you will get some clear on the already finished area unless you mask off those areas with 3m blue painter's tape.  i just mask off and around the limbs and riser, about 1/8" above and below the worked on area of the handle section.

if the bow has a glued on grip, remove it. if there's some contact residue left, try some naphtha (ligher fluid) at first and if that don't do, get you some acetone (wear a rubber glove) and rub it where the grip was to get off that stubborn contact cement. then wipe it down with naphtha or alky and dry off.

get in a few shots and let yer bow hand tell ya where wood gets removed. then set the bow in a padded vise and have at it with a 6" rasp. just keep gripping the handle and rasping away a bit at a time. i took one down a huge amount, made a very slim grip with a small throat for the minimum amount of bow hand torque before, during and after the shot.

when the new shape feels right, go over all the rasping with a progression of sandpaper grits, maybe from 60 to 320. optionally finish off with 0000 steel wool.

there are lotsa good ways to quickly refinish that handle wood. the fastest and by far the easiest is to use min-wax gloss wipe on polyu, or any variety of clear coat sprays (mask off the rest of the bow b4 spraying). i did my 7 lakes longbow with helmsman spar varnish. a tough finish can be done the massey way - mix up some slow set epoxy in a cup, dribble in some acetone until the mix turns from a goo to a wet slurry. using a rubber glove and a clean piece of cotton t-shirt, wipe that onto the handle area. allow to cure, buff with 0000 steel wool, do it again. i usually do 3 coats max.

main thing is that you'll basically have a very custom bow that'll fit yer bow hand like a ... glove.   :cool:

[7 Lakes]

Just one thing to add to Rob's post above...  When the grip feels good with the rasp, take a minute and string it up.  Shoot a half dozen arrows, does it still feel comfortable under weight?  Sometimes you'll feel a little ridge that went unnoticed without the weight.  From there either follow Rob's instructions or bring it down with a scraper. The scraper gives me a sense of greater control but glass will ruin the edge in a heartbeat.