[Ron Wood]

David,
Like the blue, there is a certain patina on the wood that is acquired with years. Built up grime and oil that obscures the checkering and/or presents unsightly blotches does beg for cleaning. However, sharp, clean well defined old grips that do not exhibit excessive oil soaking have attained a mellow appearance that, to my mind, does not warrant cleansing, scrubbing and other attempt to "restore" their finish. I would much rather see a pristine old Luger with darkened grips than one that has been tarted up with "freshened" cleaning. I don't need to be able to see the grain in an old grip to enjoy its history. Just my opinion. However, I will freely admit that I have attempted to clean up old oil soaked grips. I have an early Portuguese Navy Luger that had been stored in a barrel of used motor oil. I did try to give them the Murphy's Soap "face lift".