[Turkeyfoot]

Got an old Staghorn recurve at an auction the other day Problem is, it's heavily sprayed prolly with the old Bohning paint from the 60's. Very rough textured paint for sure. I sprayed a little oven cleaner on it and it did'nt even dent the paint:yikes: Any suggestions on what to strip this bow with without removing the finish?

 

[Jamie Miller]

I doubt you can strip paint off chemically(paint stripper) without doing some damage to the bows original finish. I would suggest trying two different solvents. try denatured alcohol first. if paint on the bow is latex, denatured will soften it and you can probably scrub paint off with 3M scratch pad and do no harm to the varnish on the bow. if denatured doesn't soften paint, try lacquer thinner or xylene. use of these sorts of solvent should be done outside or in a very well ventilated area and while wearing eye protection and suitable chemical-proof rubber gloves. if neither of these soften the paint, you will either have to sand it off or use paint stripper and just completely refinish the bow

 

[coonskinner]

i did an old 59 pearson once...it had the glue still left on from duct tape...it had been this way for yrs...it was as hard as concrete...not sure what i used...maybe windex...but it worked decent and the original finish was still nice and shiney...just be very careful around any of the silk screens or writings on the bow...you doan want to remove that...

 

[LIBERTY 1]

ACETONE will remove it just use it lightly go slow so you dont remove anything you want to keep.

 

[Turkeyfoot]

Thanks for the info guys! I thought about trying denatured alcohol. This bow looks like it was sprayed with gunite instaed of paint:yikes: XP60 model with dual stabalizers and is 50#@28". Did some research and found it cost $79.50 in the late 60's. Looks like nice wood underneath

 

[Hippie Chris]

Have ya tried just regular old wd40? I had a gun that was painted and it worked great on it.

 

[mrgq4126]

laquer thinner and a little elbow grease. Laquer thinner is not very rough,and great for stripping paint off old bows without actually eating the old finish. Paint thinner strips quick but can damage quick to, also can damage glue line. Don't use paint stripper.