This a lot of truth to that.
Blemished bows were still solid shooters, but Bear did not want to sell them if the blemish showed. Some bows they sold as factory seconds at a discount. Some they camo painted and added $5 or $10 bucks to the price. The como bows gained in opularity and Bear started offering the camo painted bows as a special order feature at an extra cost. When supply did not meet demand, they just painted a non blemished bow.
So while many camo bows were blemished, many were not.
I have removed the camo from a factory camo job and found a beautiful finishe underneath. Under the camo is the normal bear finish, but the camo tends to protect it over the years until removed.
BowDoc just removed the paint n the riser of a '64 Kodiak and left the pain on the limbs. Came out really nice.