Art Buchanan

Phil---from tone of your post it would seem that patience is not one of your virtues. I assure you that I have used the cleaning method for about 15 years and this is the first complaint. Anything will swell if you soak it long enough[even your head]. 4 days soak for grips should certainly make them swell. Have patience--let them dry. Frankly I have never had to soak them 4 days. I have soaked grips for as much as 2 days. Then let dry. If still full of oil--then soak again. I have encountered a very few grips that were so impregnated with some unknown oil that they never came out to color of natural wood. After cleaning grips I prefer to let them set for several day or even weeks. Some remaining natural[or originally applied] oils eventually leach out and qrips look original. Some require an application of the red/brown rubbing oil. Let you grips air dry for several days---I suspect they will fit. OVEN---NO! I haven't reviewed my posted procedure--but I believe that I did mention that I experminted with 20/30 seconds in microwave with some success for really bad oil soaked grips. This was prior to cleaning with the paint and varnish remover. Sorry things didn't seem to work for you. What do you prefer---Lugers at 50 paces? Or wet noodles at 2 feet? But then I am not mad at you---Just disappointed in your childish behavior.