Very Dark Grips

[gsewell]

I just purchased a 1916 DWM Luger, and the grips are very, very dark gray. The inside of them looks a lot lighter and you can see the grain, and I was thinking about refinishing them to try to bring back their natural color. Bad idea or good idea?

Thanks,
Gary

[newluger]

Gary,

There is a proper way to "REFINISH" your grips. I'm sure that our more experienced and knowledgeable members can tell you how to do it properly. When I followed their advice, my grips came out very clean and new looking. By all means, don't use any type of caustic remover.

peter

[gsewell]

That is the process I found on another site, but wanted to know if this way would produce good results.

Thanks,
Gary

[mrerick]

If you eventually decide to send them out, consult G.T. on this site. I think he's among the top of the international experts on grip restoration.

Marc

[G.T.]

Hi Marc, Thank you for the kind words, but i would have to defer that high praise to the more knowledgable on grips, member, Hugh Clark... Hugh is the whole package from cleaning, to color, to checkering... But, having said that... What is needed to make a final decision on the grips is a picture.. a good picture because some grips were dark, and are as such, beautiful in there own right! Also, I have found in my mag bottoms manufacture, Walnut can be clasified in hundreds of shades from light orange to blood red, but when oil and time are involved, it goes right to either light or dark.. Example, once you get a walnut with any brown, red brown, or dark grain in it, and apply any stain, light or dark, particularly oil base like Danish oil, and you got dark walnut... Sapwood, or light walnut, won't accept hardly any stain, unless soaked in it, or liberal coats of leather dye, again very dark.. which results in a strange looking item, hardly what a Luger lover wants... ... Keep in mind, this is fairly dense european walnut, and most of the original patena on the wood, is from a hundred years of abuse and bad road.. but if you take it off, be ready to let another 100 years or so go by before it looks right again! Just my opinion on the little wood parts! ... Best to all, til...lat'r....GT

[pitsword]

+1 for Hugh Clark. I have not yet, but am about to send a matched set to Hugh.

[gsewell]

Oh-My-God! I followed the steps above from Art Buchanan's article, and the old girl now looks like an 16 year old. After about 1.5 hours in the Strip-X and after cleaning the grips, they looked pale yellow. I then put 2 rubbings of lemon oil on the grips and they have a natural walnut look, and they just shine. Could not be happier.

Thanks guys
Gary

[gsewell]

Pictures!

Keep in mind when I started the grips were almost black.

Gary

[G.T.]

Arts been doing this all for a loooonnnng time.. pretty tough to get any better instructions then the ones written by Art, Looks nice, just like new!! best to you, til...lat'r...GT

[chuck17]

Those grips look fantastic! I, too, have found that lemon oil brings out the natural beauty of the wood and makes the grain vibrant. After cleaning, grips can look grey like wood on an old barn...apply lemon oil and they come alive. Good job! Thanks for sharing.
-Chuck

[John Sabato]

Kudos to Art Buchanan for sharing his wisdom in that article, and to Ben M. for reposting it here...

[CAP Black]

I know this is subject to debate and to personal preference but I have recently tried the method as covered above. I like to add a light coat of boiled linseed oil because I feel that adds a protective coating for the grips. If fact, if not careful, it's sort of easy to get too much linseed oil on them. If I do that, I take some off and spread it out and when satisfied, then let it dry. Then I put on the lemon oil and I prefer Formby's Lemon Oil. I like the results from hand rubbing the linseed oil and the lemon oil. I have learned that way back in time, the old gunsmiths, in building guns, hand rubbed the stains, oils, etc. The oils from our fingers and the warmth and friction makes a little difference in the chemistry of the woods and the processing of the finishing materials.