Painting your bow?

[Ace12]

Has anyone here ever painted their bow? I’ve been at home from work and completely run out of projects around the house. Bought my Mathews triax a few years ago in their camo, never liked it but it was cheap. Anyways thinking of painting it solid green or brown. Curious if anyone has ever done it and had any tips or advice

 

[cnelk]

Sure.
Get some camo spray paint and masking tape

 

[motts]

I just did my one bow last week - and a rifle stock about two weeks before that - and will probably do my other bow after I get the one I just painted tuned back up again since I also replaced the string and cables. I bought both used and was never crazy about the realtree snow pattern that they had.

I completely stripped the bow down and painted everything separately as I wanted to do the limbs, limb pockets and riser slightly different colors. I also masked off the contact areas on the limbs and limb pockets as I only scuffed up the original paint and painted over it so I wouldn't have to competely sand everything down, deal with priming the aluminum riser, etc.. I should have also masked off the small portion where the limb pockets contact the riser, but forgot to and had to sand them back down again after the fact to get the limb pockets to seat properly. I gave everything a good wipe down with 91% ispopropyl before painting.

I didn't want to do anything crazy, just make it so it doesn't stand out as much as I felt it did with the old pattern. I'm happy with how it turned out (sorry about the crappy pic).

 

[Lukem]

I stripped down the riser of a Hoty AlphaMax a several years back (their finish sucked to start with) and painted it with what I thought was good paint. It didn't hold up (chipped easily) and I did it again. My recommendation would be to buy good spray paint, not just "good" Menards paint. I don't have any paint brand recommendations as I still used crappy of the shelf paint, but you can find some similar projects on AT and elsewhere. Have fun!

 

[Capra]

Use Duracoat and you will have a bulletproof finish

 

[journeyman713]

Years ago I painted my new (at the time) Matthews, cause I thought it had a sort of sheen to it.
Just gave it a mist of flat olive. You could still see the existing camo pattern come through, but the shine was gone. Not a work of art, but it was beautiful to me and killed lots of deer!

 

[SteveCNJ]

I camo'd my muzzleloader about 10 years ago. It was grey. I taped everything off and sprayed a light base coat using rustoleum camo colored paint from Wally world. Then with a cut natural sponge dabbed the greens and browns.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Nate_Beres]

Not painted but I had a local guy hydrodip my cams, grip, quiver, string stop and sight, it was like $80 in 2016.
I understand This doesn't really answer your question seeing as you're looking for a project.
I think you can order at home dip kits. It's been 4 years and held up very well.
If you're set on camo I think there are stencil patterns you can print and cut out.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Tyeguy]

I have thought about paining my bow as well. My concerns would be getting paint on the cams. I don't have a bow press, so taking string off would be a problem.

 

[Dos Perros]

Use Duracoat and you will have a bulletproof finish

I Duracoated mine, overall really happy with it, but it isn’t impervious to flaking or chipping. It’ll show wear over time (like anything I guess).

 

[Capra]

Mine is pretty damm tough, I spent the time to scuff everything and I used the catalyst as well

 

[180splitg3]

I think it's Randy Ulmer that suggests spraying a fine layer of flat black over any bow - I know that's not full paint though. I've always wanted to try it but never have felt it to be necessary...

 

[motts]

I have thought about paining my bow as well. My concerns would be getting paint on the cams. I don't have a bow press, so taking string off would be a problem.

You can just tape/mask everything off as best as possible and you should be fine without completely disassembling the bow. When I looked into it online before painting my bow, it seemed like more people went that route. Most of them left all their accessories on as well, but masked off the important parts like fiber optics, etc..

 

[Dos Perros]

Mine is pretty damm tough, I spent the time to scuff everything and I used the catalyst as well

I did the scuffing. Doubt I did the catalyst. Tried to alcohol the eff out of it. I’m getting chip outs where I strap to my pack, on the handle edges, so definite wear areas.

 

[silasbowhunter]

I did my Hoyt Carbon Spyder Turbo ZT late last summer. I completely disassembled my bow as I wanted to do the limbs as well. Just took it all apart, light sanded, then degreased and gave it a couple coats. Turned out good, but like anything I do, I can do better lol here’s a pic of me with my buck.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[beefsix]

iirc you can only paint your rifle or bow after 5 (five) kills with each, and can repaint them different colors every multiple of 5 after. this is law

 

[downeaster@252]

Following

 

[Jimbob]

I think this guy did a horrible job, did not tape off enough important areas, but if he's happy with it. The first minute shows the painting.

Spray Paint VXR

 

[blackshuk]

I just did my one bow last week - and a rifle stock about two weeks before that - and will probably do my other bow after I get the one I just painted tuned back up again since I also replaced the string and cables. I bought both used and was never crazy about the realtree snow pattern that they had.

I completely stripped the bow down and painted everything separately as I wanted to do the limbs, limb pockets and riser slightly different colors. I also masked off the contact areas on the limbs and limb pockets as I only scuffed up the original paint and painted over it so I wouldn't have to competely sand everything down, deal with priming the aluminum riser, etc.. I should have also masked off the small portion where the limb pockets contact the riser, but forgot to and had to sand them back down again after the fact to get the limb pockets to seat properly. I gave everything a good wipe down with 91% ispopropyl before painting.

I didn't want to do anything crazy, just make it so it doesn't stand out as much as I felt it did with the old pattern. I'm happy with how it turned out (sorry about the crappy pic).

View attachment 172141

That looks sick!
What spray paint did you use? Brand and color
Thanks big dog

 

[motts]

That looks sick!
What spray paint did you use? Brand and color
Thanks big dog

Thanks! It was satin Rustoleum "Painters Touch, 2x Ultra Cover Paint and Primer" in fossil (light tan), espresso, moss green, granite (gray), and nutmeg colors.