New grips, "Raw" wood
 

Quick question:

I just bought a set of "laser cut" walnut grips for my shooter from our friends at Numrich. As far as I can tell, the grips are "raw" and unfinished.

Before I put them on my pistol, I'd like to put on a simple finish to keep them from drying out and cracking.

A friend recommended tung oil, but at $18/quart, it's a little bit expensive, considering I'm going to use it only on one set of grips.

Any and all suggestions for a substitute finish will be appreciated.

Many thanks,

Dave in TN.

Hey Dave. I bought 4 pairs of the SARCO $15 grips made in India for my Shooters. They needed about 2 hours of work per pair to contour and clearance. Make sure the mag release spring has clearance. For the price I'm happy with them. I initially used Lemon Pledge furniture polish ( the liquid ) and let it soak in for awhile, then wiped off the excess. After 2-3 weeks they would look a little dry and I would repeat it. I eventually bought some Formbys Tung Oil ( low gloss ) and have not had to do any more since. Joe

Boiled linseed oil is pretty cheap. You can find it at Wal-Mart.

I think I would go with the Walmart boiled linseed oil. Be sure to brush the excess oil out of the checkering with an old toothbrush so it doesn't gum up the checkering.

Charlie

Dave, the Formby's is almost all tung oil, and I haven't found anything I like better for gun wood. Plus you can buy it in the gloss or low gloss version. Wal-Mart always carries it. It's not cheap, but buying it in pint cans makes the bite less painful.

Formby's blends a few other oils with the tung in small quantities, to make it penetrate better. And it does a good job of that. So before you put it on, be sure you have the wood very clean and just the way you want it. You will be sealing it, to some extent. Put enough coats on smooth wood, and you build up a nice, hard, protective shell. But on long gun stocks, I like to put only about one or two light coats on interior surfaces, to let the wood breath. Same on Luger grip panels.

If you keep a can of Formby's so many years without using it that it goes bad or hardens, you are only out a pint; not a quart.

And...this is important...Formby's, same as WATCO, uses a pretty decent type of snap seal for the container. It actually seals. It isn't likely that you will open it next year and find the whole thing has turned into useless rubber-like goo, as happens so often with cans having removeable metal lids, or screw top cans.

Phil,

I'm with you 100%. I went to Home Depot for Tung oil but the smallest quantity they'd sell was half a gallon. At the rate I intend using the stuff, it would last forever.

So, last night I went over to Ace Hardware and got 8 ounces of Formby's for about seven dollars ±. I figure two or three coats (24 hours between coats) should do the trick.

Once I get the grips fitted to my pistol, I'll post a few photos.

Thanks to all who responded.

Dave in TN.