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Author Topic: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )  (Read 1639 times)

Offline Zradix

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Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« on: July 31, 2011, 09:26:00 PM »
Hey everyone!

This is probably old news to many, but maybe some one will learn something new.

I have a martin savannah.
Pretty bow.
It had a semi gloss factory finish.
It was always a bit too shiny for my taste.
There were a couple very small cracks in the finish right where my thumb wrapped the multi lams in the grip area.
Nothing structurally wrong. I just wanted it sealed.

I had heard that gloss poly sealed out the elements better than semi-gloss or satin.

So I went over the whole bow with some 0000 steel wool.
Wiped it off with some mineral spirits.
Then applied a couple light coats of gloss wipe-on poly. I put a bit extra in the problem area.

Boy did it look good!
Problem was it was shiny as heck.
I know critters have died from hunters using shiny bows, but I didn't like it that way.

Sooo, I rubbed her down pretty good with some more 0000.

Took a lot of the shine off..but still not happy.

After wiping down with min spirits again,
I took a spray can of minwax fast drying poly in satin and went to work.

These cans have the nice spray nozzle that sprays a fan rather than a cone.
Rotated the orifice to give a horizontal fan.

Hung my bow up by some spiderwire around the string groove.

I found if you hold the can about 18-24" away....
basically far enough so the "fan" of spray doesn't hit the bow. You want to use the part of the spray that has begun to roll.

It gave a bow a slightly textured finish that is truly almost no glare. The texture really breaks up the shine...and gives the grip a little "grip" too.

I used the whole can...over 4 separate sprays Didn't really add up to much as there was a LOT of waste.
I did all the spraying in less that 1.5 hrs.
But for an $8 bill I have a basically non-glare bow. There is just a very little bit of glare.
But no "shine" no reflecting of the sun into a bright spot of light coming from my ground blind.
No flashing.

oh..one more thing...
Just to be on the safe side..
I didn't like the thought of that texture in the string grooves.
A little rubbing compound and a Q-tip took care of that in a hurry.

It doesn't look as pretty as it did to most people.

But to a hunter...it looks about perfect.

Off to the woods...

        :thumbsup:
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline Dry Creek

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2011, 09:36:00 PM »
We need some pictures!
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Offline Zradix

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2011, 09:51:00 PM »
uh oh...

I don't think I have a single pic of the bow before I sprayed it..   :knothead:
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline 2madjacks

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #3 on: July 31, 2011, 10:13:00 PM »
Hate it when I do that!!  :banghead:    :banghead:  
lol, Glad it came out how u wanted, just wish we could see it too...

Oh well maybe next time,
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Offline Zradix

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #4 on: July 31, 2011, 10:42:00 PM »
hold on..
been doing some searching.
found some pics from the guy that traded me...
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline Zradix

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #5 on: July 31, 2011, 10:46:00 PM »
here are the before pics..

 

 

 
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline Zradix

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #6 on: July 31, 2011, 10:51:00 PM »
and here are some now pics.
I took these under fairly harsh fluorescent lighting..trying to get it to glare.

One pics kinda shows the texture.
I don't have a very good close up camera.

   

   

   

   
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline Zradix

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2011, 11:34:00 PM »
just for fun here a couple side by side pics of my newly finished bow and a Bear polar.
The polar has about the same amount of gloss in the finish my bow used to have.
The new finish still has a little glare.
But it is much softer and sorta spread out.
I think it'll be much less prone to "flash"

 

 
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline Rusty in Fla.

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #8 on: August 01, 2011, 12:28:00 AM »
Nice job   :clapper:


   I'll have to look for some of that for mine as well.
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Offline Zradix

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #9 on: August 01, 2011, 12:29:00 PM »
Thanks.

It's pretty easy.

    :thumbsup:
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline LimBender

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #10 on: August 01, 2011, 04:59:00 PM »
Good idea, good post, and good pics.
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Offline owlbait

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #11 on: August 01, 2011, 05:03:00 PM »
Nice work. Limbender may have to do that to his knife!
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Offline LimBender

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #12 on: August 01, 2011, 05:19:00 PM »
Hey, that's what a sheath is for, eh?
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Offline K. Mogensen

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #13 on: August 01, 2011, 09:17:00 PM »
That is awesome! I like the look of that finish and may have to try it on my Savannah...
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Offline 2madjacks

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #14 on: August 01, 2011, 10:37:00 PM »
Very nice job! Thanks for sharing
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Offline Toecutter

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #15 on: August 02, 2011, 12:16:00 AM »
Very Cool!!

Nathan
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Offline swampthing

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #16 on: August 02, 2011, 07:58:00 AM »
All-right, now make it shiney again you hurt it's feelings.    :smileystooges:
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Offline Zradix

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #17 on: August 02, 2011, 09:16:00 AM »
Nah...

She's feeling all sexy covert-op'd up now.

With the groups I got last night..she likes it!

   :thumbsup:
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline Rob DiStefano

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #18 on: August 02, 2011, 09:26:00 AM »
real good job.  love that min-wax polyu, both wipe on and spray.  i use both for bows 'n' arrows.

not that it matters at all, but if ya don't wrap the handle area, your hand grip with eventually shine up the finish in that area.
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Offline deadmule

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Re: Give your bow a low glare finish ( update )
« Reply #19 on: August 02, 2011, 09:26:00 AM »
Thanks for the great info. I have a HH Big Five that I have been wanting to put a non glare finish on...it looks easy enough.
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