Custom Grip Finishes?

[Olympus]

I just finished with a set of custom grips for my 1911. I've got them all cut out and sanded. Now I just need to figure out what to put on them as a finish. I don't want to do a high gloss finish on them. They are spalted hackberry so they're pretty light colored wood...almost white even and I'd rather not make them much darker. I want a light set of grips to set off the bluing on the pistol. So what should I use to finish them with? Someone recommended Tung oil but I've never used it and I'm worried if I start putting it on, it will make the grips darker colored. What are my options?

 

[rcmodel]

I'd always recommend Tru-Oil.

A clear bar-top polyurethane would be clearer perhaps.
But if you scratch it, it stays scratched.

You can easily touch-up Tru-Oil when necessary.

If you don't want it shiny, rub it out with extra-fine steel wool.

Tru-Oil on the two walnut grips.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j219/rcmodel/KTOG/HomemadeGrips.jpg

rcmodel

 

[Oro]

Tung oil is a fantastic finish and comes in both matte and gloss mixtures, but it does darken wood a bit. Tru-oil will work well, also like rcmodel says. Be sure to use it per the instructions, dry thoroughly between re-coats (a day or two sitting out).

Sounds nice; I also like white/light grips against a nice blue job. I have a few handguns gripped that way.

 

[nicholst55]

I'd always recommend Tru-Oil.

+1; several custom grip makers use it almost exclusively.

 

[battlecry]

I'm having a hard time with some revolver grips made of cocobolo. They have a deep crack running through the face that oozes some of that natural oil that prevents tung or other finishes from hardening. Tried to seal it with crazy glue but didn't work very well. Ended up with several coats of shellac and now it is taking the tung oil. We'll see if it will hold up or the shellac/tung distort with my grip and show fingerprints. If that is the case, I'll go WEST epoxy over it.

 

[Oro]

Crazy glue was a bad idea. A very bad idea. The way to deal with a naturally oil-rich wood like cocobolo is to strip some of the oil out to create a neutral surface, then add in a natural-based oil, like tung oil. That you have added tung oil over synthetic binders, and without stripping it, is clearly not going to work.

The best way to fix this is an acetone bath- leave them in for a day or two, then remove them, refresh the acetone, and repeat. Keep this up until the wood dries clearly. Starting with an unpolluted substrate is the key to getting a nice finish.

Also, the trick about hardening after that is to give it two days betwen coats, and give it up to four coats. Take your time! Toss a scuff of 000 steel wool between coats, and you'll end up with a fantastic finish.

Now, if you have a set of old, worn grips with a big crack in them, well, you can refinish them but you can't adapt for the underlying poor condition and cure it on the surface.

 

[Olympus]

Well thanks for the suggestions! I'll have to make a Tru-Oil purchase I suppose. I ran into a little snag though. This was my first attempt at making some grips and I wanted my first set to be a thin set. Well I got them all ready to go and I put them on my pistol last night for the first time to see what they'd look like. By the time I sanded them down, I got them TOO thin! The screw bottoms out before it starts tightenting the grip. I guess maybe I should have thought about that before I put all that sanding time in. Back to pile of blanks for me I suppose...:banghead:

 

[rcmodel]

Not a problem!

You can either file down the grip-screw bushings to fit thin grips.
Or replace them with thin-grip bushings made for the purpose.
(It is SOP to dress down the grip screw bushings to keep the screws from seizing up and taking out the bushings when they are removed.)

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=24892&title=SLIM GRIP SCREWS & BUSHINGS

Once fit, you will also have to shorten the screws or they will stick through into the mag well and bind up the magazine.

If they are really shallow, you can glass-bed the screw holes with Acraglas

rcmodel

 

[Olympus]

Well I don't know that I want to file down the bushing that the original screw goes in. I might go the aftermarket bushing and screw deal, but I don't know yet. If I get the shorter screws and bushings, then the head well stick up above the grip. I don't know if I want that look. I would like to have the screwhead recessed into the grip. I may have to make another set of thin grips and carve a diamond or some other shape around the screw holes and make that part of the grip thicker than the rest of the grip.

 

[battlecry]

Thanks, Oro. Good advice.

 

[Olympus]

Alright, I've got another question. I just got in some beautiful pieces of purpleheart to make a set of grips. This wood isn't cheap so I don't really want to make any mistakes on these. I don't know if anyone is familiar with purpleheart, but it's obviously purple, but it will also get a darker purple and eventually turn to a brown color when exposed to heat and UV rays. So I'm trying to think of a way I can finish them so that they will stay the beautiful purple color. What are my options?

 

[Olympus]

I finished the set of purpleheart grips. I ended up using a high gloss formula of Formby's Tung Oil. I've got them coats of it on them right now. I'm thinking I'll probably stop at 5.

I sanded them down all the way to 6000 grit jewelers grade cloth. These things are smoother than glass! If I can find a big enough supply of purpleheart, I'd consider making sets to sell.