Cleaning oil soaked and stained wood grips

[Olle]

Originally Posted by mrerick

The steamer has a wand that puts out a focused stream of steam. You put the washcloth directly over the dented area, get the steam nozzle down close to it and give a 15-20 second burst of steam.

The cloth will be wet, and the dent will gradually swell back to level.

This is an example of the kind of thing I'm talking about. I got mine at Goodwill...

http://www.amazon.com/DBTech-Multi-P...=steam+cleaner

Well, that's really neat! Never seen one before, but I think I need one.

Originally Posted by rhuff

I have had better luck with lacquer thinner than acetone or alcohol. I let them soak for a bit, and then use a soft toothbrush. It is a long drawn out procedure once one has removed the "easy part". The stains in the end grain area are tough.

I hate to work with lacquer thinner, but I'll give it a shot. I just got them out of the Strip-X, then scrubbed them with Murphys and they are starting to look pretty good now. There's just a little bit left in the end grain and some other spots, so I'll see if the lacquer thinner will do the trick. I probably need to let the wood dry for a while first, so the thinner will soak in good.

I have noticed that the very last spots usually take a while whatever you use, but it seems like repeated soaking and dabbing it with a dry rag speeds it up. Wicking out the dissolved gunk with the rag appears to be more effective than just soaking and scrubbing.