Duckjihad,
"Do you submerge the grips in the stripper, or just coat them and leave alone for a while? How long do they need to sit with the stripper applied? Did you have to be careful to keep the stripper off the medallion?"
I brush the citri-strip on thickly and let them sit for a few hours before gently scraping it off with coarse steel wool and I detail small areas such as the checkering with suitable dental picks. Then clean up the residue with mineral spirits. I masking taped the medalions just to play it safe, but I don't think the stripper would affect the metal.
I don't want to start a flame war, but I personally would not use acetone for stripping the grips since it takes out ALL oils - even the essential oils in the wood fibers. If you doubt this, just put some acetone on your fingers and see how the skin turns white (and the skin would die if you soaked your finger tips in it). Others have used it but may live to regret the long-term effects to the wood. I use acetone often in my shop for degreasing metal before blueing or lock-titeing, but NEVER to strip wood.
I believe in taking the conservative route when refinishing stocks and have not had a bad experience yet. I would NEVER put wood stocks in a dishwasher either, but some swear by this and others really, really have regretted doing it!!
Ron