Grips on a 1917 DWM- color OK? or is cleaning needed?

[Olle]

Originally Posted by RShaw

Of course, the type of oil one adds is critical, what do you use? I would think it's difficult to get a uniform appearance over the entire grip surface... think I'll try some other pieces of wood to see what happens before I mess with my original grips... mmmm.... should probably just leave them alone

I use Formby's Tung Oil, mostly because it's convenient. It does everything linseed oil does, and I haven't seen any negative long term effects of it. It's very thin, penetrates very well and dries much quicker than linseed oil, and if you have ever used linseed oil you will probably appreciate something that dries quicker. On Luger grips you only need to apply enough to "wet" the wood, and it will normally give you an even color. The only time you run into problems is when you haven't cleaned the wood good enough, the oil doesn't only darken the wood, it may also darken the grime you accidentally left and accentuate it. Still, you'll see the same effect if you let the wood darken naturally.

I believe Formby's is a mix of tung oil and some kind of varnish so it's probably not for the purists, but it works great and is easier to work with.