Titebond III not "bonding" well to sinew back?? Peeling on some edges??!!

[1776J]

Well, I followed the advise of some of the fellows on here to put a coat of Titebond III on top of the sinew back in order to have a paint-able surface.  No one would suggest something that doesn't work well, so I'm just stumped!

I first sanded down the sinew back just enough to clear off any  spar urethane that had got on the sinew back from having sprayed the belly,
and to give the surface some tooth so the titebond could bite in.
After two coats of tightbond it looked great!  I let it dry and cure for about three days or so.

Today I was thinking of painting the back, then I noticed that a little area by the handle looked strange.  I then noticed that it was just barely lifting up.  When I stuck my fingernail under it and pushed it just kept lifting up until it got to the heavy sinewd area, then it didn't do it so much, but it DID lift even there. 
I looked over the tightbond coating that had lifted up and it appeared that it pulled up some of the hide glue?
I trimmed off the tightbond close to the areas where it seemed it wasn't going to pull of anymore (HOPEFULLY???), hit it with some sandpaper *80 grit for some tooth), cleaned it well
with tack cloth and acetone, let it dry and I re-coated the area a few minutes ago.

So, what are your thoughts fellas?
For some reason it didn't bond?  Areas where very clean, dust free, etc.  No humidity in the house air either, its pretty dry inside.
I'm stumped?
Think I'll just keep having issues like this on this bow?

The one nice thing is that it kind of sealed the hide glue and the bow hasn't creeked at all when I dray it like it did without the tightbond! But if it won't bond correctly what good is it??
 

Photos of what I'm seeing here...




Re-covered the area...

[bareshaft12]

Ive had the same thing happen to me,it bows.

[1776J]

Ive had the same thing happen to me,it bows.

It seems that guys on here have had great success what in the world is the difference in what I'm doing?
Frustrating,... just want to fix and figure it out.
Hope I don't have to heat up the tightbond and pull it all off!   

(Of course I would not be surprised it i did have to go that route,... nothing would surprise me,.... that's just my luck! HA!) 

[Pat B]

Did you degrease the sinew backing before you added the glue?  A wipe down with alcohol or acetone will do the trick. I never had a problem with sinew/TBBIII, or rawhide or snake skins with TBIII. They are all similar in makeup.

[1776J]

Did you degrease the sinew backing before you added the glue?  A wipe down with alcohol or acetone will do the trick. I never had a problem with sinew/TBBIII, or rawhide or snake skins with TBIII. They are all similar in makeup.

I hit it with a dampened rag of acetone. I didn't overdo it on cleaning it though. Think I didn't clean it enough with the acetone???
Think maybe it was the little bit of spar urethane that may have not been cleaned off enough maybe?

If it keeps happening, would I be better off possibly heating/warming it up and seeing if I could peel off the tightbond? 
The, either really clean it with acetone more, let dry and re-coat with tightbond?...or?... peel it off and just seal it with shellac and let it be,..no painting, just leave it?

I'll follow the best route whatever that may be....I'm not afraid of the work, just the outcome.

[artcher1]

How old is your glue Jason. You use backstrap (backstrap is really greasy) or leg sinew. Never used the TB3 over hide glue only TB2. But I won't think there would be that much difference. Like Pat said, folks glue snake skins down with this glue without problems........Art

[1776J]

How old is your glue Jason. You use backstrap (backstrap is really greasy) or leg sinew. Never used the TB3 over hide glue only TB2. But I won't think there would be that much difference. Like Pat said, folks glue snake skins down with this glue without problems........Art

Both the hide glue I used to attach the sinew and the titebond is BRAND NEW.  Not been sitting at all.
Also, yes I did use backstrap....figures I'd have used the greasy stuff huh??
Regardles though, I covered up the sinew pretty well with hide glue,.. in fact I used a little to much so I would have thought that the sinew, greasy or now would have now been encased by the hide glue?  Wouldn't it be??
Oh I thought a few guys said to use titebond II over the hide glue??....crap, maybe I was incorrect??...but yeah, could there be any real difference though?

So, should I just let what I have on there dry, then see if its going to lift like it did before and if it does, see if I can pull the titebond off, (maybe by warming it up???)
Or?.... what would you suggest at this point?

Thanks Art,... thanks everyone!

[artcher1]

If your repair doesn't works then probably the best thing to do is just scrap/sand off the old TB glue and apply a finish and/or paint over that.

[Gaur]

So which one did you use Titebond II or Titebond III?  Your title said III but in your post you said II.  I'm curious as Art said you shouldn't use III but rather II.  Good luck with your bow.

[artcher1]

I quite using hide glue long before the TB3 came out Gaur. But I do know that TB2 worked very well over hide glue/leg sinew. Backstrap is just to greasy for use with this type glue IMO. Tried it once and it didn't work to well. Really doubt the type glue is Jason's problem. Probably the grease from the backstrap mixed with his hide glue preventing a good bond. Plus looks like he used way to heavy a coat of TB also. Difficult to know for sure what's at fault but a pretty easy fix I would think.......Art

[Pat B]

When I first made Elkie I used hide glue for the first two courses of sinew and TBIII for the final course. I also used TBIII for the snake skin. On Elkie the TBIII on sinew bonded very well.

[1776J]

So which one did you use Titebond II or Titebond III?  Your title said III but in your post you said II.  I'm curious as Art said you shouldn't use III but rather II.  Good luck with your bow.

Hey thanks for pointing that out, I missed adding one more "I" to "III"  hahaha   

[1776J]

Plus looks like he used way to heavy a coat of TB also. Difficult to know for sure what's at fault but a pretty easy fix I would think.......Art

So if anything I'll just sand down the coatings I had put on.  Yes, it may very well be too thick!... (oops!) 
Probably just taking a little longer to cure.... I'll sand her down a little thin it out just a wee bit.

[1776J]

When I first made Elkie I used hide glue for the first two courses of sinew and TBIII for the final course. I also used TBIII for the snake skin. On Elkie the TBIII on sinew bonded very well.

Yes, it has to be something I did,....
I'll see if the repair works,... if it doesn't I'll just sand it down and apply clear over it and call it a day,... take it out and shoot it in.   

[1776J]

Well, this has been an interesting "Titebond" learning experience!!!! 

I sanded it down a little and noticed that as it heated up from friction, it wasn't all that hard to peel it up off the sinew and hide glue.
Frustrating enough was that in several places it did bond very well and pulled up some sinew.

So, my idea is to now re-hydrate the sinew that is exposed, some strands are just hanging half off, etc.  warm it up and glue it back down.  Add sinew where and if needed.
In the end, I'm just going to mix some pigment with shellac and paint it that way.

This is my best bet.