I am a new member here. I also posted this topic on ArcheryTalk (and wrong forum here)
I am about to come in to possession of a Darton recurve. The previous owner painted camouflage on the riser and possibly part of the limbs. I was wondering if you thought it would be safe to sand off the camouflage and stain or varnish the wood once I have it down to bear wood. Is this safe or would it hurt the integrity of the bow? Any advice or experience would be appreciated.
I have contacted Darton to see what they recommend, but have not received a reply yet.
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=006080
Try Fingernail polish remover and 0000 steel wool. You can usually take camo paint off using that without damaging the finish underneath. On more stubborn paint use Minwax Antique Furniture Restorer same process. Follow the directions on the can. I have done several bows using the Minwax product without damaging the finish underneath but had a couple that I wasn't so lucky on. I believe on those two the original finish may have already been sanded before the camo was applied.
If it was cheap camo paint mineral spirits might do the trick. You could speed it up with some fine steel wool if you like.
May have to give it a quick spray with some clear to shine it up again.
Don't take sandpaper to your bow until you know what you're doing. You can possibly change the tiller or worse ( and easier to do ) take too much off the sides and create a limb twist problem.
Good luck to you.