How do you preserve your handgun wood grips?

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How do you preserve your handgun wood grips?

A gripping issue! From what I've found the preserving of old wood grips does not have just a one answer solution. The downloaded manual has the following advice.

"Extreme care should be excercised that all metallic surfaces be kept clean and oiled, and the wood stocks on the revolvers should be inspected for cracks caused by moisture. A periodical coat of raw linseed oil, well rubbed in with the hand, will help prevent the splitting of stocks, but care must be excercised that the linseed oil does not get into the mechanism or on moving parts, as it has a tendency to gum when dry"

Cautious note and might be done away with by using a product that will not gum up. One solution might be to use Ballistol lubricant which is advertized to lubricate, penetrate, protect and preserve intended uses and materials include firearms, leather, knives, tools, locks, marine,  wood, metal and rubber.

http://stevespages.com/pdf/s&w_14.pdf

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Show and tell, how and what do you do to preserve your wood stocks and grips?
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"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated!" Loquacious of many. Texas Chapter Chief Cat Herder.

Re: How do you preserve your handgun wood grips?

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Wood grip preserves

Directions

Dissolve the baking soda in about 2 quarts of cool water, and immerse the figs in the treated water in a large bowl. Gently stir to wash the figs, then drain off the water and rinse the wood grips thoroughly with fresh cool water. Place the wood grips into a large pot. Add 1 cup water, sugar, butter, vanilla extract, lemon, lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Very gently stir the mixture to dissolve the sugar, keeping the wood grips intact as much as possible.Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until the figs are golden brown and coated in syrup, about 1 hour. Stir gently a couple of times to keep the figs from burning onto the bottom of the pot. Add a pinch of salt, if desired, to tame the sweetness.Sterilize the jars and lids in boiling water for at least 5 minutes. Pack the figs into the hot, sterilized jars and top off with syrup, filling the jars to within 1/4 inch of the top. Run a knife or a thin spatula around the insides of the jars after they have been filled to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any food residue. Top with lids, and screw on rings.Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then carefully lower the jars into the pot using a holder. Leave a 2 inch space between the jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary until the water level is at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a full boil, cover the pot, and process for 15 minutes.Remove the jars from the stockpot and place onto a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. Once cool, press the top of each lid with a finger, ensuring that the seal is tight (lid does not move up or down at all). Store in a cool, dark area, and wait at least 2 days before opening.

They say its great on toasted bread with butter.

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This is just my opinion, yours may vary and is no less valid.
- Me -

"I will never claim to be an expert, and it has been my experience that self proclaimed experts are usually self proclaimed."
-Me-

I must proof read more

Re: How do you preserve your handgun wood grips?

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nigel wrote:Take them off. Clean them with furniture polish. Wrap them carefully in tissue paper. Place in a stout box and store in a cool place. Attach $25 aftermarket rubber grips on gun.
You've made an interesting point. The originals may go into storage in the future since they are numbered and match the gun.
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"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated!" Loquacious of many. Texas Chapter Chief Cat Herder.

Re: How do you preserve your handgun wood grips?

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sikacz wrote:
nigel wrote:Take them off. Clean them with furniture polish. Wrap them carefully in tissue paper. Place in a stout box and store in a cool place. Attach $25 aftermarket rubber grips on gun.
You've made an interesting point. The originals may go into storage in the future since they are numbered and match the gun.
Hogue makes really nice grips for Smiths.

https://www.hogueinc.com/grips/S&W/kfra ... utt/rubber
LGC Texas - Vice President

Re: How do you preserve your handgun wood grips?

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SilasSoule wrote:When I clean my rifle, I just rub some of the gun oil into the stock and then dry off the excess with a rag. Seems to work.
bad idea, softens the wood eventually

Sika, a couple of drops of linseed will be fully absorbed by the grips. No worry about getting it in to the works if you let the grips dry off the gun overnight. use very little oil. don't get oil in the checkering. If you do, brush it out with an old toothbrush and a dab of mineral spirits. otherwise, it can gum up and collect lots of dirt in those crevices.
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Re: How do you preserve your handgun wood grips?

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Bucolic wrote:
nigel wrote:Take them off. Clean them with furniture polish. Wrap them carefully in tissue paper. Place in a stout box and store in a cool place. Attach $25 aftermarket rubber grips on gun.
Exactly!! The original grips for my Woodsman, Highway Patrolman, and Luger are all safely tucked away. Hogue or Altamont grips are excellent place holders.
Advice taken. Won an eBay bid thingy for these grips. Wife loves wood so here and they shipped today (at least eBay said).
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They're for a K frame S&W and target grips.
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"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated!" Loquacious of many. Texas Chapter Chief Cat Herder.

Re: How do you preserve your handgun wood grips?

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Marlene wrote:
SilasSoule wrote:When I clean my rifle, I just rub some of the gun oil into the stock and then dry off the excess with a rag. Seems to work.
bad idea, softens the wood eventually

Sika, a couple of drops of linseed will be fully absorbed by the grips. No worry about getting it in to the works if you let the grips dry off the gun overnight. use very little oil. don't get oil in the checkering. If you do, brush it out with an old toothbrush and a dab of mineral spirits. otherwise, it can gum up and collect lots of dirt in those crevices.
Will it absorb is there is a varnish or wax over it? Could it be safer to apply the oil from the back, which is not always finished ?

I have some very old guns,some thats sat in storage untouched for 20 years and more. The wood is fine and had nothing but old fashioned gun oil over spray and a wipe down with a rag.

I am thinking its where and how stored, humidity, temp, etc... I do know my dad just dumped them in the safe, and while most had some rust (arrgh) with the exception of a small few, the wood was fine. Some even look brand new still.


But, how about oil, dump in a seal a meal bag with a moisture absorbsion pack and store in cool dark safe . That might cover all the bases.
This is just my opinion, yours may vary and is no less valid.
- Me -

"I will never claim to be an expert, and it has been my experience that self proclaimed experts are usually self proclaimed."
-Me-

I must proof read more

Re: How do you preserve your handgun wood grips?

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Marlene wrote:
SilasSoule wrote:When I clean my rifle, I just rub some of the gun oil into the stock and then dry off the excess with a rag. Seems to work.
bad idea, softens the wood eventually

Sika, a couple of drops of linseed will be fully absorbed by the grips. No worry about getting it in to the works if you let the grips dry off the gun overnight. use very little oil. don't get oil in the checkering. If you do, brush it out with an old toothbrush and a dab of mineral spirits. otherwise, it can gum up and collect lots of dirt in those crevices.
What type of linseed oil do you recommend? Boiled, raw, purified or other?
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"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated!" Loquacious of many. Texas Chapter Chief Cat Herder.

Re: How do you preserve your handgun wood grips?

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First I want to say that I am not an expert woodworker. In fact, I am terrible. Since the grips in question only cost about $20, I don't feel too bad when I bung things up (and I can usually fix it with patient sanding).

I buy old Herrett Shooting Star grips on Ebay and refinish them. First I soak them overnight in acetone, then scrub the dissolved varnish out of the checkering with a toothbrush. Then I very carefully deepen the left panel thumb rest with a half-round file, followed by smoothing with 180 grit paper, and then smoothing all the flat areas of the grips with 400 grit.

If they are going on a well used gun, I'll follow that with a few coats of pure raw tung oil at 8 hour intervals followed by three weeks of curing. Then they get a good rubdown with some bronze wool with Johnson's paste wax, followed by a buffing.

If they are going on a gun with a good finish, I'll use several coats of Tru-Oil applied with the fingers at 2 day intervals. You have to get a feel for when the Tru-Oil is starting to thicken while you rub it in, and stop before it goes tacky. Two to three DROPS of Tru-Oil (Did you notice that Marlene said "couple of drops" for the linseed oil - It's no joke, just two or three drops!) is sufficient for a coat on one panel. Sometimes I sand with 800 grit between coats, depending on the condition of the wood.

The results are really nice. Guess I better take some pics this weekend and post them here.

How to identify OLD Herrett Shooting Stars: They will have the Herretts name and address burned lightly on the inside of one grip panel. I don't recommend buying any Herretts with a little paper sticker instead of the burned in name, because you might be very disappointed with what arrives.

If you want to buy some truly beautiful grips for a fair price, see Culina's grips. They fit well and are shaped and finished with great care. I'll post pictures of a couple of those as well.

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