Painting a bow ?

[Stick Bender]

I have been admiring all the painted bows on PA lately and was wondering what kind of paint & seal all you painters use on a sinew bow Etc ?

[Pat B]

Acrylic craft paint from most big box companies works well.

[simson]

I do all painting with homemade colors out of earth pigments (mix with hide glue, water and soda).
Sometimes I use wood stain on rawhide in different colors

[Dakota Kid]

I've been a professional sign maker and mural artist for 15+ years, specializing in hand painted text and airbrushing. That being said, I prefer oil based paints because they tend to thin better, brush on smoother, and last twice as long. I use a brand called sign painter's 1 shot. It's the paint typically used by motorcycle pin stripe artists. It's made to cover in "1-shot". In a pinch when I can't wait for shipping, rustoleum oil enamel is the best widely available oil paint in my opinion. I've also found I prefer to thin my paint with coleman's camp fuel as opposed to thinners. Besides being cheaper, it has some additional petroleum distillates that slightly retard evaporation and makes pulling long lines feel much smoother.
For a clear coat, they make a flexible automotive grade clear in a spray can that I've been happy with. You can find it at any auto paint supply shop. On plain unpainted wood, I use tung oil with buffing between coats. 

India ink sprays well too if the design is just in black. I've been told I would like RIT dye thinned with alcohol through the airbrush, but have yet to try.   

I am just starting to explore natural pigments and making my own paints and dyes, which seems less like work to me. I may end up adopting these techniques for bow making, just to keep that line between work and play well defined.

[bradsmith2010]

many viable options
I would suggest keep it simple at first and experiment as you gain success
acrylic is cheap and easy to obtain,,and a clear finish can be sprayed over that,, or brushed,,
oil does go on a bit smoother,, but has its issues as well,,
there is a learning curve with both
you just have to start and see what works best for you,,  professional artist have a preference on what medium they like, and don't agree on what is best,,
of course natural pigments have been used forever and are in context with the bows we make,,,,
you could mix the acrylic with hide glue for a  more organic effect,, the options are infinite,,
or once painted,, you  can glaze over with hide glue to tone the paint down etc etc etc,,
the last bow I painted with artist oil paint,,it looked nice,, I sprayed a clear finish over the paint and it looks quite nice,, but not muted or toned down like a natural pigment,,  good luck on your project, I am sure it will look great,, 

[Stick Bender]

Thanks Im going to try the acrilyc toned over by the hide glue with simple pateren for the first one all though the earth pigments are realy nice I will save those for the future.

[DavidV]

Oil looks good and goes on smooth but this bow ended up taking a month to fully dry.

[Dakota Kid]

That is a draw back with oil. The trick to a quick(couple day) dry is air flow and a little japan drier. I like to add a little penatrol as well. It eliminates brush strokes and smooth things out during the dry.

If you're gonna try the acrylic paints, you may want to get some flotrol. It's basically penatrol for water based paint. It can be used like a glaze for some pretty awesome faux finishes. If you add more flotrol than paint it starts getting translucent. You can layer color on top of color creating some real depth.

I did the marble, plaster, and tiles with the glazing faux finish technique. Where the real floor meets the matching painted tile is almost indistinguishable.

[Bryce]

Pigment pen

[Dakota Kid]

I heard they make an oil paint marker that just amazing. I have yet to try one. I use black sharpies all the time. I may have even used one to put a Celtic knot on a HHB mollie bow. Shhh...

[BowEd]

I've used indian ink pens before but it's hard to get other colors besides black and white.I supposethere are companies out thee that can accomadate different colors.