[ithacaartist]

Hi Paul, welcome to the forum,

I agree with Doug that the paint can be stripped, but I'll add a couple of details that may help.

A good MEK based stripper, avoid water based. This stuff works better the longer it sits, and will continue to leach out noticeable bits of the paint's pigment and color, lightening the grips as much as possible. I've removed finish and other contaminants and crud from checkered walnut grips by immersing the grips in a mason jar full of stripper (thus, a mini strip tank) overnight, cleaning them up, and repeating to lighten them. This process won't affect the natural color of the wood, only removes the non-wood that makes them look crappy. Be careful to use a soft bristle toothbrush with the grain of the checkering (basically 2 sets of parallel vees, oriented at about 30 degrees from each other, and about 15 degrees, each way, from a line that is parallel to the lengthwise center line of the grip) to avoid removing any points still left on the pattern. Don't scrub. Clean the brush frequently. Rinse with acetone when it the bulky goo is gone, brushing lightly.

I can't make a call as to how effective refreshing the checkering towards the bottoms of the grips would be; I hope Hugh will comment. He can also recommend a stain that could, if necessary, help even out the color. Then it would be all sealed up with the oil Doug recommends.

I think these projects are fun; good luck!

David Parker