BB,
All I did was steel wool it all over to get the marks off of the bow and then I actually used an epoxy finish. I use 2 ton epoxy (the two part stuff you can get anywhere) and denatured alcohol (sorry cant spell today, or any day for that matter LOL) Mix it 5:1 aprox. (alcohol 5 , epoxy 1) basicaly thin the expoxy out so you can wipe it on. Just wipe it on one way and don't go back over it until its dry. You see what I mean. If you can spray it I'm sure that would work too. It turns out very hard and looks nice even wiped on. Then after it drys a few days you can put on the skins.
Good luck keep us posted.