Finishing

[DC]

Say you put the first of multiple coats on a bow and notice a tool mark. You resand that part, and then do you recoat the whole bow or just touch up the spot, let it dry and then continue coating the whole bow? Put another way, does it matter if the part you sanded is one coat shy?

[simk]

DC, my method is very simple: Ignore, forget and leave it! If you detect it so late, no one else will ever remark it. We are humans, not machines. Perfection is unachievable. Cheers

[Edit to be more precise: The closer you get to the end, the more bugs you find. You have to find the right point to ignore bugs and this point ist very personal and situativ i think. I very much like the tillering process and don't want to waste too much time on other details therefore...other people are maybe different and if you anyway aim to build an excetional bow in all aspects you have to take the challenge, walk through hell and recoat the whole bow. remember: on pa-photos you can hide problem zones  ]

[Pat B]

It might depend on the finish. I use Tru-Oil and it lends itself to spot repairs with no noticeable evidence.

[bjrogg]

I use tru oil and sometimes I just touch up a spot. Oftentimes I start out to touch up a spot and end up doing the whole bow. I don't think it matters a real lot that the spot has one less coat as long as the spot has enough coats and the finish is feathered in. This might mean the rest of the bow has a extra coat.

Usually what happens to me is if I'm staining a bow I might find tool marks that really stick out from the stain. Then most of the time I end up sanding whole bow again to get stain and tool marks off. Then stain over again.

I personally don't mind some tool marks, but it does depend on the tool marks and who the bow is for.. It's kinda like a hand hued beam to me. If it didn't have any tool marks it would just look like a manufacturered beam. I don't really like rasp or file marks that stain unevenly really making them show up. I feel it's a personal thing and just like every bow is different, so is the way we look at tool marks. In fact I may look at the same type tool marks differently on different bows. Guess that's the long answers to a short question.lol
Bjrogg

[DC]

Thanks guys.

[Pappy]

I would leave the tool mark and carry on.  I am with Pat and BJ, I use tru oil mostly and do spot repair with not much problem.
 Pappy

[George Tsoukalas]

I would carry on too. However, I must say tool marks drive me crazy.

After striking the bow for the first time I use a only scraper-like tools which cuts down on belly tool marks.

I have found that moistening a paper towel and running it over the bow exposes tool marks which I remove with knife, scraper and sandpaper as needed. It also raises the grain. Sand with 220 grit and repeat until no more grain is raised.

Then I follow with 400 and 600 grit.

Jawge

[ntvbowyer1969]

When i see them i either leave them alone. esp. if its my bow for hunting. With truoil and a bow going to someone i have had good results softly scraping the area with scraper. sand the area.120,150,220.320,550. i then use fine steel wool to help fade the borders of the area you fixed so it blends better. I then use a small tip of cloth to hit just that area you resanded. i do the amount of finish you have put on already. i do lightly sand inbetween coats and tact cloth. i then continue to apply coats over the whole limb.