# Custom Bow Riser Paint Job



## aaronb10 (Jan 15, 2010)

That's cool. I've seen alot of neat custom risers,but that is very original. Good work.


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## DubVBoy (Feb 20, 2012)

Pretty creative, can honestly say that I've never seen that done on a bow. :thumbs_up


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## GimpyArcher (Feb 27, 2009)

Looking good. can't wait to see the finished product


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## gf319804 (Feb 6, 2008)

Looks great JB, you are a true envisionary!


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## Rhody Hunter (Jul 14, 2008)

Looks good I 
Like the contrast . That makes it customized.


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## iwantone2.4 (Sep 12, 2010)

:thumbs_up:teeth:


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## bowhuntingrn (Jul 14, 2008)

I like it. That was good thinkin'


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## strandbowhunter (Jan 6, 2010)

I like it!!! You might see some bow companies steal that idea.


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## Diamond113 (Jul 19, 2008)

looks sweet


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## Thansen (Sep 23, 2009)

Like it


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## oldschoolcj5 (Jun 8, 2009)

creative and original are great descriptive words ... I agree - looks great!


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## jbrown31 (Feb 20, 2010)

Thanks, everyone.

I had a bit of a scare with the clearcoat yesterday. I don't know if it was too hot in my garage, or too humid, or what... But after spraying a couple coats of clear, the finish was anything but clear. It took on a milky-white hue, with little white particles all over the surface that almost looked like dust. I was freaking out! All that work to mask everything off and my clearcoat just ruined it!

Well, after the clear dried up a bit, I very lightly hit it with some steel wool to take the white particles off and smooth things out. It looked dull again, but better. So I waited for the garage to cool down in the evening and tried it again, this time being extra careful to apply the clear in very light coats. Thankfully, it turned out much better this time. Now I just have to wait a week or so to let it cure before putting the bow back together.


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## Cheese1 (Sep 6, 2009)

Very cool. Love the black with camo exposed.


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## sittin-at-20ft (Feb 3, 2011)

awesome!


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## C Svach (Jun 8, 2011)

Very cool. Supprised no companies have done it yet. Use some clever advertising about 3 dimensional shadows in blinds or some nonsense, to sell a ton. I like the truth, IT JUST FLAT OUT LOOKS COOL. Plus the CDI Factor (Chicks Dig It).


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## 138104 (May 14, 2009)

Looks great! 

That sound like a ton of coats of paint over the factory finish. Have you test fitted the limb pockets yet?


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## jbrown31 (Feb 20, 2010)

Perry24 said:


> Looks great!
> 
> That sound like a ton of coats of paint over the factory finish. Have you test fitted the limb pockets yet?


Excellent question. No. lol

I'm sure that the limb pockets are going to fit tight with the extra coats of paint. My plan is to see just how tight it really is once the clearcoat is cured... And then if necessary, I'll carefully sand the riser down where the limb pockets overlap.


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## jbrown31 (Feb 20, 2010)

This project was one hell of a learning experience, I'll just say that right now...

---

So yesterday I decided to say fugg it and started to put this bow back together. Of course, with 8 or 9 extra coats of paint and clear over top of the factory finish, the limb pockets didn't wanna slide back. I expected this. What I didn't expect was for the clearcoat to come off in big flakes. Note to self.... **** Clearcoat. For one, I wasn't very happy with the look of it after I sprayed clearcoat... and for two, clearcoat flaking off was just plain unacceptable. Upstairs I went, bow in hand, and filled up the bathtub... I wet-sanded the entire bow, removing all of the clearcoat and smoothing out all of the rough spots.

Now my riser looked like **** again... smooth ****, but **** nonetheless. There was only one way to resolve this little hiccup. Mask it all off... again... and paint it... again. About two hours later, I had it all masked off. I had a little bit of the flat black enamel left, so I got to work. Well, I knew I'd be cutting it close on paint, but I thought for sure I'd have enough to finish. Nope. Wrong. I got 3/4 of the bow repainted and I ran out of juice. This did not make me happy one bit. Off to Home Depot I went to pick up another can.

I made it back home, finished with the final coat of flat black, removed all the masking, and let it hang to dry. It was after dark... I had paint all over myself... and I felt down, but not defeated. Finally, it looked good again.

Today I got it put back together... Greased the limb pockets and limb bolts, thread-locked the important stuff, the whole nine yards. I must say, even after all the headaches I went through during this project, I am really happy with how it turned out. If it wasn't for getting sidetracked by the clearcoat, it actually wouldn't have been bad at all... But hey, that's how you learn I guess.

He she is.... finally....


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## TH30060X (Jan 7, 2006)

wow. That looks freaking sweet man. well done.


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## mxtuner1 (Mar 16, 2011)

That is such a cool job! Well done! It is almost like you can see the "guts" of the bow (to give it human qualities) and that they are of the breed "CAMO" and don't mess with me I might make you supper! LOL


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## Cheese1 (Sep 6, 2009)

Yeah that is like........ I'm a bad ass black bow on the outside and I got camo underwears on. I love that.


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## ezee2404 (Sep 11, 2011)

If you used clearcoat from a can or some kind of cheap low solids clear, it will chip crack and peel just by looking at it. it sprays way to thin and requires multiple coats for coverage. A high solids urathane with a flatner added, would not chip at all if applied right. Im not by any means downing your work, it looks great. im not sure strother could have done it better themselves.


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## jbrown31 (Feb 20, 2010)

Cheese1 said:


> Yeah that is like........ I'm a bad ass black bow on the outside and I got camo underwears on. I love that.


Best... post... ever. Thank you!



ezee2404 said:


> If you used clearcoat from a can or some kind of cheap low solids clear, it will chip crack and peel just by looking at it. it sprays way to thin and requires multiple coats for coverage. A high solids urathane with a flatner added, would not chip at all if applied right. Im not by any means downing your work, it looks great. im not sure strother could have done it better themselves.


That makes sense... because the clear in a can did exactly what you said it would. It'd probably be wise to just use a high quality urethane clear next time.... Would've probably saved me some headaches. lol


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## cuttingedge (Feb 19, 2005)

I'm diggin it! Looks great! What paint did you use?


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## jbrown31 (Feb 20, 2010)

cuttingedge said:


> I'm diggin it! Looks great! What paint did you use?


I used Rustoleum Flat Protective Enamel. About 4 bucks a can from Home Depot.


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## Spike Bull (Aug 15, 2003)

You know jbrown31, I wasn't sure until I saw the pics with it all reassembled. Now there is no doubt, it looks really, really nice!


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## jbrown31 (Feb 20, 2010)

Spike Bull said:


> You know jbrown31, I wasn't sure until I saw the pics with it all reassembled. Now there is no doubt, it looks really, really nice!


Thanks, man! Don't feel bad... because I was the same way. In my head it seemed like a great idea, but until it was reassembled I honestly wasn't 100% positive that I'd like it. Now, I'm extremely happy with the way it turned out. Pictures really don't do it justice, IMO.


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## huntnfishnut (Jan 12, 2011)

I like it


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## Dride (Apr 10, 2012)

That's awesome looking!!


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## Bjank (Jun 25, 2012)

I've always wanted to but, was afraid of messing up.


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## 138104 (May 14, 2009)

That looks great! I'm glad it all worked out, even though it took longer than expected.


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## jimmyk (Oct 14, 2007)

i may have to try this myself. marked for later.


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## NEMOBUCKS (Feb 3, 2006)

looks great!!! I did a wrinkle finish on a riser a few years ago....I put it in the oven to keep it nice and warm to help with the curing.....what are you doing for temperture and how warm are you keeping it??


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