Tape/coating to change colour of limbs?

LittleSkink

Active member
Possibly an odd question, but I know our cousins across the pond do this - anyone point me in the right direction for a tape / sticker / material that can be applied to limbs?

This is mostly driven by my 13 yo who has a field bow, but to get lighter draw limbs I have taken out the nice matt black limbs and put in shiny white limbs covered in branding. She wants to "look cool" I am keen the stuff is removable so I can sell the limbs when she grows out of them

I have seen stuff like camo gun wrap tape but it looks like a cloth tape (some smoother than others) rather than smooth vinyl
 

ArcheryFox

Active member
Can buy from here in various designs cut to limb shape: Limb-Skins - Bowrap wraps,arrows,limbs bowrap I don't *think* arrowsocks do them.
Otherwise they look like vinyl which you could probably source and cut yourself.
I've seen people use various approaches with other materials to varying degrees of success (paint - not great, dipping - OK, but hard to remove later, other sticky materials - alright, but show up 'stretch' lines) but vinyl is probably your best bet I'd imagine.
 

ThomVis

Active member
I went to a shop that coats windows against UV and sun-rays, he also has wraps for cars et cetera. Selected the thinnest black wrap he had and stuck it on the limbs.
 

Timid Toad

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Be aware that sticking things to limbs can slow them down: you may need to retune, and light bows with heavy arrows only just reaching targets now may struggle after getting wraps.
 

Cereleste

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Be aware that sticking things to limbs can slow them down: you may need to retune, and light bows with heavy arrows only just reaching targets now may struggle after getting wraps.
Increasing mass definitely decreases speed, but I don't think it would be noticeable at the scale discussed here. Covering both sides of the limb with vinyl (0.1mm thick) adds maybe 4 grams at the most to the limb and it's evenly distributed. Have you seen a noticeable difference in speed to the extent that retuning was needed from just wraps alone?
I added 60g to each limb once (m8 nuts taped evenly along the length) and saw a 3% reduction in speed (62.6m/s to 60.6). The speed difference from adding 4 grams to each limb would then likely only be around 1/15 of that - well within the noise on a chronograph and the shot to shot difference of an archer with a clicker. I would expect the percentage change to be about the same at lower poundages and with shorter limbs.
 

ThomVis

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Sight marks didn't change at 18 and 25 meters.
I did apply the side facing the archer while the limbs where off the bow, and the side away from the archer while the bow was strung. This to make sure the wrap wouldn't stretch too much while bending and unbending.
 

dvd8n

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I'd be interested to hear how it holds up. And how easy it is to get off when you sell on the limbs.
 

4d4m

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Increasing mass definitely decreases speed, but I don't think it would be noticeable at the scale discussed here. Covering both sides of the limb with vinyl (0.1mm thick) adds maybe 4 grams at the most to the limb and it's evenly distributed. Have you seen a noticeable difference in speed to the extent that retuning was needed from just wraps alone?
I added 60g to each limb once (m8 nuts taped evenly along the length) and saw a 3% reduction in speed (62.6m/s to 60.6). The speed difference from adding 4 grams to each limb would then likely only be around 1/15 of that - well within the noise on a chronograph and the shot to shot difference of an archer with a clicker. I would expect the percentage change to be about the same at lower poundages and with shorter limbs.
That reminds me when I was a beginner and the more experienced archers advised me to change my brass nocking points to tied ones. “They will slow your arrows.” I didn’t say anything apart from thanking them for the tip of course but I think my face may have expressed some scepticism.😁
 

Berny

Active member
lightly sand the "white" limbs with 400grit paper, & spray with can of Halfords (or other low cost brand) darker colour.
They may suggest using an intermediate undercoat .... up to you if you do.
You may need multiple coats to cover & can always finish with a coat of clear to protect against scratches.
 

Cereleste

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lightly sand the "white" limbs with 400grit paper, & spray with can of Halfords (or other low cost brand) darker colour.
They may suggest using an intermediate undercoat .... up to you if you do.
You may need multiple coats to cover & can always finish with a coat of clear to protect against scratches.
How do you find that holds up? I've considered it before but worried about the paint cracking from all the bending. Is it important that it's a spray paint?
 

Berny

Active member
holds up fine - look for spray suitable for fibreglass car bodies
....but regardless it should be a fine/thin coat with spray.

Are you good enough to use a brush & put on a thin coat without brush strokes? .... I'm not!
 

ThomVis

Active member
Or look for spray paint for plastic bumpers. Holds up good while bending, just the string groove will suffer and loose some paint. Make sure you spray thin layers or it will crack. Wraps don't have these drawbacks. Oh, resale value of your limbs plummets after paint, wraps you can peel off.
 
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