Respray for a Yamaha riser

[Phil]

I have a Yamaha Alpha EX riser that's beginning to look a little tatty so I've deceided to respray it before it goes off for sale. can anyone reccommend a suitable type of paint/undercoat/primer, etc that would give me a first class finish .

[MDBowhunter]

I am not sure if the bow has a metal riser, but I just recently had my Widow HS riser Powder Coated. The finish is top notch not to mention bombproof. You may want to see if there are any powder coaters in your area. The riser and hardwear ran me about $25. I had mine done in a texured black and it came out real nice. In fact I was not able to find a paint the was as dark as the limbs. This was the closest so far with the riser being just a tad darker than the limbs.

You can get just about any color you want, flat or glossy, smooth or texured.

[DAS]

Guys,
If that riser is made of machined alloy it should not be powdercoated!!! The heat treating in aluminum alloys begins to degrade as low as 140 degrees. By the time you reach 300 degrees the damage accelerates very quickly! Powdercoating is done at 400 degrees! :eek:
Most cast aluminum and magnesium risers can be powdercoated but you should call the manufacturer before you do. It can significantly reduce the strength of the riser.
For those risers that cannot be heated, you can abrasive blast them and hard anodize them like I do with my bows. A good option for do-it-yourselfers is a product called Duracoat wich is made by Lauer Custom Weaponry. It can be applied with an airbrush and baked at 100 degrees. It produces a really nice mat black finish and is very tough. I believe it is available in other camo colors too. It is available from MidwayUSA.

[Bill Tait]

DAS,

I have a couple of cast alloy risers that did not turn out very well with powdercoating, the powdercoat bubbled in a few spots due to voids in the riser that held air. I would like to try to have them hard anodized. Do you know of a shop that would do 2 risers for me? Any idea of the cost?

[DAS]

Bill,
Some shops are really good and some are really bad! The guy I use also does all the work for Bowtech, Leatherman, and Benchmade to name a few. I've used him for years and he is top notch. The place is called Plus One Anodize in Portland, Oregon. 503-539-2869.
You will need to find out what the alloy is in order for them to properly set the amperage and cook time. Most anodizers have a minimum and Plus One is $60 for hard anodize (type III) and $50 for decorative (type II), but they will do quite a bit for that price.

[Bill Tait]

DAS,

Thanks for the lead.

How can I find out what kind of alloy the risers are made from? They are 30+ years old and the company has been out of business for a long time.
Do you think that $60.00 will cover the abrasive blasting and hard anodizing for both risers?

[Viper]

Phil -

Agree with DAS that a good powder coating is best, if the metal will tolorate it, AND you can find someone who's good at doing it.

I have a 30 something year old Bear Mag T/D that I did with black auto lacquer, that's holding up pretty well, actually amagingly well. Also just did the Mrs. old Bear "C" Mag riser with Rust-o-leum primer followed with bright white, about a year ago. Don't know how well that'll one will hold up, after 30 years, but right now, it looks better than it did when it came out of Grayling. So there is more than one way to skin a cat.

Viper out.

[DAS]

Bill,
I'd hate to speak for them, but my guess is yes. They are reasonable for what they do. You should call them and run it by them. They are the experts really, not me. They may be able to tell what it is by looking at it. If they have reservations, my next approach would be the Duracoat. If you don't have an air brush, you can buy a little sprayer called a Preval sprayer from most better auto parts stores and paint stores. It is basically a spray can that you fill yourself. If you want I can do that for you. I have my own blast cabinet too. PM me if the other avenues fail and I'll help you.