Taking snake skins off???

[Over&Under]

Anyone ever tried this on a bow to get down to the glass and so the veneer underneath could be seen?

I have a set of limbs that have some good veneers under the skins, and the skins need to go.

Can this be done????

Thanks
Jake

[PEARL DRUMS]

I have never done it, but anything is possible. If you scraped and sanded carefully enough you could get down to glass. Then start over sanding and sealing. Im sure it could be done, but I wouldnt want to do it! If anything other than Elmers was used to adhere the skins they wont want to come off easily.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

It would be pretty tough cause I put mine on to stay, I fully intend to make sure they don't come off and then put about 5-7 coats of Tru Oil over them.

If they had super glue sealed over top before the finishing coats went on your looking at alot of sanding involved.

If it's just Tru oil and elmer's wood glue like mine then I'd suggest you strip the outer finish off first then sand the skins off, but it might look like hell when you get done?

[2treks]

Scraper and sandpaper. BE CAREFUL, WATCH THE EDGES. TAKE YOUR TIME.
Once you figure out the diff between the skin,the finish,the glue and the glass. you will have no worries. Each material will look,sand and sound different as you work it down.
Are you sure the skins are not covering a booger?

[T Folts]

Chuck if it was covering a booger would'nt there be a bump.lol  

[tree dancer]

What Chuck said! I removed some skins after talking to Chuck about it a few weeks ago, and it turned out fine.It takes a little time, but not hard to do.  George

[Pat B]

If you used TB glue to put the skins down you might be able to heat them  to remove. TB glues will release at 150deg(F). Heat one end of the skin and try to get it to lift then work your way down the limb with the heat as the skin lifts.

[Over&Under]

Originally posted by Two Tracks:
Scraper and sandpaper. BE CAREFUL, WATCH THE EDGES. TAKE YOUR TIME.
Once you figure out the diff between the skin,the finish,the glue and the glass. you will have no worries. Each material will look,sand and sound different as you work it down.
Are you sure the skins are not covering a booger?

Not sure on the booger idea Chuck, but I think these were factory done so I think the veneer underneath is fine.

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Is there a way to tell what kind of glue was used?...other than contacting the bowyer?

[Pat B]

If it was done by a commercial bowyer I doubt they used TB glue.

[2treks]

"Not sure on the booger idea Chuck, but I think these were factory done so I think the veneer underneath is fine."

OH! Sounds good.
Go slow and keep us posted on your efforts.

CTT

[7 Lakes]

I rough up the glass pretty good before applying skins.  Once the skin is off there would still be quite a bit of work to do.

[Kc kreger]

I'll throw a curve into the discussion, I have a longbow I absolutely LOVE.  It had copperhead skins put on by the bowyer when the bow was made.  The bow is so old that the skins are very faded.

Has anyone ever tried to apply new skins on top of old ones?  Or would this look worse than what I have now?