>>460750>>460938>>461013>>465938WOW THERE BUCCCO
Yes. Painting your bow with a paint which contains solvents or water (ie all paint) will possibly damage your bow. I appreciate the comment from the boat builder - and he's right - but you aren't building something which keeps form. A bow flexs, and significantly. I believe it was Pip Bickerstaffe who coined the phrase "A longbow at full draw is 95% broken" - (although I may be wrong on which bowyer said it - its a famous quote)
An example would be wood stains, when the solvents penetrate the wood, they loosen it and change the water content on a microscopic level - but enough to change the shooting characteristics of the bow. A good example would be my 72#@28" Osage Orange Self Longbow, after 5 coats of Danish Oil, which is recomended by all for bows, it lost 4lbs in drawweight. Because it was Danish oil, it shouldn't have any other negative effects, however bear in mind that other paints/varnishes (and other mixtures of danish oil with a higher conc. of Turps.) could affect your bow negatively, and a solid drying paint or very hard paint might change the flexibility of the surface - this is especially important on the outermost ring of the back of your bow.
If you're shooting some "American Longbow" ie a flatbow, and have used mopdern techniques etc, it might not affect it at all. My knowledge is solely of trad. English/Welsh Longbows.
>>465542On Ebay there's a guy in china who sells cheap mongolian style bows handmade to order, upto 90# for around $80.
Also, get some proper archery training. I find the quickest way to shoot (unlike that stupiud, biased, historically and scientifically incorect Lars #RantOver) Is to hold the bow in my left hand (im a right handed archer) sharply tug from a belt quiver thats almost vertical, and holding the arrow by the knock, move it between the string and the belly of the bow whilst orienting the arrow cock out, nock it so that when it is in place I can draw instantly
