Refinishing revolver grips

[mjulihn]

I have yet to purchase a Uberti or Pietta BP revolver with a decent finish on the grips. Seems they use a heavily-applied stain/finish combination that often hides nice wood grain beneath it. I decided to strip and refinish the grips on my Pietta 1858. Once down to raw wood I applied Minwax dark walnut stain and four coats of Tru-Oil for the finish. I consider this a great improvement over the mass-produced factory finish.

 

[crockett]

I re-did the grips on a 1851 Navy replica- looks better. Some of the knife making catalogs sell exotic woods and Rosewood with a lot of figure makes a pc grip that looks very good- on my "to do" list.

 

[Zonie]

Glad to hear the Minwax stain worked for you.

It usually doesn't.

Minwax and other oil based stains often fill the wood with oil which prevents additional coats of stain from darkening the wood beyond the first two coats.

That's okay if that color is what you want. If it isn't dark enough, your pretty much SOL.

That's why I recommend using diluted alcohol or water based stains.
Because a person can add an unlimited number of coats of these stains with each coat darkening or changing the color, it is much easier to get exactly what the builder wants.

 

[mjulihn]

Great advice, Zonie. I only needed one coat of Minwax stain but did not realize it would seal the wood preventing additional coats to darken if desired. Guess I got lucky!

 

[M. De Land]

Good idea I had not thought of! I didn't know they were large enough for pistol grips. Thanks for the idea! Mike D.