Check out my refinished Uberti 1860 Army grips!

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WWIINut

WWIINut

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I have seen where several of you have refinished the Uberti grips and I just had to do it. I just finished and I just had to show them off!

As soon as my Walker comes back from Goons I am doing the same thing to it. I much prefer the natural linseed oil finish that lets the grain stand out. Luckily the grips had a nice grain pattern, especially on the left side.
 

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So where is the finish? It looks like raw wood without varnish or something similar to Birchwood Casey Tru Oil. The fit of the wood to metal is great, I must say.

Your grip is just plain quarter sawn walnut with no figure.

If you want a good linseed oil finish I would choose Linspeed oil and it will take several weeks to attain it. I did it on a Remington RB rifle long ago.

I prefer a more glossy finish, and that is what a well cared for linseed/linspeed oil finish will get you.

Pietta_1851_Navy_Dragoon.jpg

Jim
 
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Brian, I am sorry about my blunt reply. Everyone has their own tastes. Don't let this dissuade you.

Nice to see a newbie getting involved in this hobby. I wish there were more of you folks.

Thank you!

Jim
 
Brian S

Nice job of refinishing your grips, especially with the wood to metal fit. Keep up the good work and let us know how it goes with the grips on your Walker when you get it back.
 
I like it. I would prefer better looking wood to start with, but sometimes you just work with what you’ve got and make it as nice as you can. I like the satin or matte look, it just looks soft and grippy. It looks like it wants to tell a story.
 
My own preferences in both cars and guns is SHINE, never one for Matte anything, that aside your grips typify Walnuts open grain porous structure. They should be filled with a good filler, then finished smooth, A matte finish doesn't have to be dull looking. An excellent way of filling wood is to apply coats of a gloss urethane, sanding down to the woods surface until the pores are filled and the wood is smooth.
 
Nice works. I like boiled linseed. I did one rifle with beeswax finish that I made myself. Also turned out well. Excellent work.
 
Brian S said:
Very nice, but I was attempting the matte finish.
Click to expand...

FYI, Birchwood Casey now makes a new version of Tru Oil called "Genuine Oil" -- which yields a "hard" finish that seals the pores (much better than low-gloss tung oil), but with a satin or non-glossy finish.

I haven't used it yet, but just ordered 1 bottle for < $9 delivered from a seller on ebay, as I have not found it in any stores yet. A guy on Frontier Muzzleloading showed some images of the finish on a gun that he did, and it made the grain and colors "pop" and looked really nice. You might want to check out this option.

Old No7
 
Brian S said:
I have seen where several of you have refinished the Uberti grips and I just had to do it. I just finished and I just had to show them off!

As soon as my Walker comes back from Goons I am doing the same thing to it. I much prefer the natural linseed oil finish that lets the grain stand out. Luckily the grips had a nice grain pattern, especially on the left side.
Click to expand...
Really nice work Brian! Excellent fit, and I really like the matte or natural look.
 
Old No7 said:
FYI, Birchwood Casey now makes a new version of Tru Oil called "Genuine Oil" -- which yields a "hard" finish that seals the pores (much better than low-gloss tung oil), but with a satin or non-glossy finish.

I haven't used it yet, but just ordered 1 bottle for < $9 delivered from a seller on ebay, as I have not found it in any stores yet. A guy on Frontier Muzzleloading showed some images of the finish on a gun that he did, and it made the grain and colors "pop" and looked really nice. You might want to check out this option.

Old No7
Click to expand...
Great find! That would be perfect. Report your results when you finish.
 
I am a fan of shiny and glossy things but I also appreciate the looks of natural wood. Having said that I can find no substitute for the feel of raw or mostly raw wood. It feels as natural to my hand as it looks and I prefer that feel over anything else. Once any kind of hard protective finish or gloss is added I find the feel becomes more hard and slippery like a synthetic.

I have admired some beautiful quality carbon fiber grips with sheen and depth that actually have a slight rubbery feel to them but they don't come near to competing with the feel I get from a Ruger Old Army with dull looking worn out grips (the op s grips look much better). It is kind of frustrating but I guess I can't have it all. There is also a unique sophisticated grain pattern to plain wood that makes me want to stare at it and attempt to somehow read it (it sounds weird but that is how I explain it) so I can understand the saying they look like they have a story to tell.

I imagine if hunting a natural wood finish is less likely to catch an animal's attention than anything shiny or glossy. I bet it would absorb sweat better than any hard glossed material making for a less slippery grip.

Despite my visual tastes I have to say plain wood is good and has real advantages.
 
grter said:
I imagine if hunting a natural wood finish is less likely to catch an animal's attention than anything shiny or glossy.
Click to expand...

As we are speaking of pistols, I would think that the metal would reflect more light than any wood finish on a pistol, especially when held in the hand.

Just sayin'.

Jim
 
Yes thats true I didn't mention the fact that the no sheen advantage is in firearms (rifles) with much more wood furniture than a pistol provided the metal is no too glossy as well.

Am I the only one here that likes the feel of worn out wood grips?
 
Looks good! I prefer more of a worn in gloss finish and more exotic wood, but this is what these come with.

The black back strap is a nice touch! Is that just polished spray paint? (Or was it like that from the factory?)
 
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