Hello all,

A guy at work has asked me to make him some custom pistol grips, and
I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a good finish for
them.

They're going to be Lacewood, and are going to a non-woodworker, so
I'm looking for durable- not traditional.

I'm sort of leaning towards spar varnish or poly, but I had this
terrible thought that with the various powder solvents and oils used
in cleaning a pistol, there might be an issue with the finish
dissolving.

Any good suggestions? What does a gunstock manufacturer normally use
for this?

"Prometheus" wrote in message
news
Hello all,

A guy at work has asked me to make him some custom pistol grips, and
I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a good finish for
them.

They're going to be Lacewood, and are going to a non-woodworker, so
I'm looking for durable- not traditional.

I'm sort of leaning towards spar varnish or poly, but I had this
terrible thought that with the various powder solvents and oils used
in cleaning a pistol, there might be an issue with the finish
dissolving.

Any good suggestions? What does a gunstock manufacturer normally use
for this?


No suggestions except to steer clear of a Spar Varnish.

"Prometheus" wrote in message
news
Hello all,

A guy at work has asked me to make him some custom pistol grips, and
I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a good finish for
them.

They're going to be Lacewood, and are going to a non-woodworker, so
I'm looking for durable- not traditional.

I'm sort of leaning towards spar varnish or poly, but I had this
terrible thought that with the various powder solvents and oils used
in cleaning a pistol, there might be an issue with the finish
dissolving.

There is little risk of solvent or powder issues with the finish. What is
the pistol? Is it really a pistol or are you using the term interchangably
for either a pistol or a revolver? I shoot and I prefer a rubbed finish on
my handgun grips. I have a revolver with poly'd grips and I really do not
like the way it holds in my hand. That said, the bigger thing is that the
grip properly fit the shooter's hand. Close is much different than proper.


Any good suggestions? What does a gunstock manufacturer normally use
for this?


Everything from rubbed finishes to poly, to rubber to composites.

--

-Mike-

Prometheus wrote:
Hello all,

A guy at work has asked me to make him some custom pistol grips, and
I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a good finish for
them.

They're going to be Lacewood, and are going to a non-woodworker, so
I'm looking for durable- not traditional.

I'm sort of leaning towards spar varnish or poly, but I had this
terrible thought that with the various powder solvents and oils used
in cleaning a pistol, there might be an issue with the finish
dissolving.

Any good suggestions? What does a gunstock manufacturer normally use
for this?

Every wooden gunstock or pistol grip I ever saw was done in an flat,
dull, unshiney, oil finish, a soak-into-the-wood sort of oil, most
likely linseed oil. The wood either is walnut or is stained walnut
brown (or both). I have seen ads in gun mags for fancy shoulder arms
with a glossy finish, but I never saw one for real. The purpose of
pistol grips is to stick to the hand and prevent the grip from slipping
under the recoil. Gloss finishes are slippery.


David Starr

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 05:52:46 -0600, Prometheus
wrote:

Hello all,

A guy at work has asked me to make him some custom pistol grips, and
I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a good finish for
them.

They're going to be Lacewood, and are going to a non-woodworker, so
I'm looking for durable- not traditional.

I'm sort of leaning towards spar varnish or poly, but I had this
terrible thought that with the various powder solvents and oils used
in cleaning a pistol, there might be an issue with the finish
dissolving.

Any good suggestions? What does a gunstock manufacturer normally use
for this?

Here are some links with some commonly used gunstock finishes
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/catsearch.aspx?c=1492&p=4812
http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/sport/index.html
http://www.huntamerica.com/linspeed/

There used to be an epoxy called "fullerplast" available but it seems
to have vanished.

Any decent quality urethane should be fine--basically has to stand up
to a high quality oil and to a nitro powder solvent, which is actually
pretty mild--alcohol, kerosene, ammonia, and a couple of "trade
secrets". Lacquer should also be all right and some of the new
precatalyzed lacquers are nearly as durable as urethane. I've heard
of using automotive clearcoat, which should be pretty nearly
indestructible.

If this is going to be a shooter and not a presentation piece, then
don't get too shiny--you want to maintain enough friction that he can
maintain control.

On 31 Jan, 11:52, Prometheus wrote:
Any good suggestions?

Birchwood-Casey Tru-oil
http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/sport/...ID=5&subcat=11

It's offensively shiny to real woodworkers, but shooters love it. Easy
to work with, reliable good results and resistant to gun cleaning
afterwards.

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 08:41:48 -0500, David Starr
wrote:

Prometheus wrote:
Hello all,

A guy at work has asked me to make him some custom pistol grips, and
I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a good finish for
them.

They're going to be Lacewood, and are going to a non-woodworker, so
I'm looking for durable- not traditional.

I'm sort of leaning towards spar varnish or poly, but I had this
terrible thought that with the various powder solvents and oils used
in cleaning a pistol, there might be an issue with the finish
dissolving.

Any good suggestions? What does a gunstock manufacturer normally use
for this?

Every wooden gunstock or pistol grip I ever saw was done in an flat,
dull, unshiney, oil finish, a soak-into-the-wood sort of oil, most
likely linseed oil. The wood either is walnut or is stained walnut
brown (or both). I have seen ads in gun mags for fancy shoulder arms
with a glossy finish, but I never saw one for real. The purpose of
pistol grips is to stick to the hand and prevent the grip from slipping
under the recoil. Gloss finishes are slippery.

Never seen a Weatherby?

Prior to the advent of synthetic stocks, one occasionally saw
laminated stocks on competition firearms, made with a combination of
woods intended to produce maximum stability. Some were quite wild in
appearance.

Wed, Jan 31, 2007, 5:52am (EST-1)
(Prometheus) doth query:
snip What does a gunstock manufacturer normally use for this?

Plastic grips.

Well, the last grips I made, for me, I am sure I brushed on poly.
Nowadays I'd use water-base poly. However, they were not fancy wood, in
fact molded from wood dough for a custom fit, and they go a lot of
handling, so wanted something that'd hold up. Damn, wish I still had
that gun. Ah well. The grips still looked as pristine as they day they
were finished. When I finally finished molding the grips, didn't even
need to aim, just point, and it was right on target - very nice house
gun.

Lacewood, eh? Probably not going to be handled a lot. Hell, in
that case I might just use paste wax - if it was for myself anyway - but
I'd probably opt for water-base poly instead. However, I've got a very
nice set of factory Ruger wood grips. From the look, and feel, it
doesn't have any finish at all, but I'm sure it does - after all this
time, the grips still look like new. If it was me, I'd get ahold of
them, and ask what they use - worst they can do (probably) is not just
tell you no but Hell no..

For rifle stocks, especially those tht are expected to get a lot of
rough use, several high end rmanufacturers spray the stocks with some
type of poly. Makes the stocks shiny and pretty much scratch resistant
as I understand.



JOAT
Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will
acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.
- Johann Von Schiller

Birchwood Casey gun stock finish. Available at any gun store or
sporting goods center. I have used it on numerous firearms with
excelent results. It you want a flat finish rub it with crushed
pumise after it has dried.

J. Clarke wrote:
On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 08:41:48 -0500, David Starr


Never seen a Weatherby?

Prior to the advent of synthetic stocks, one occasionally saw
laminated stocks on competition firearms, made with a combination of
woods intended to produce maximum stability. Some were quite wild in
appearance.

No, never seen one for real. Seen a lot of nice ads with gorgeous color
photos of really nice rifles, but I have never seen or handled a live one.

David Starr

"Prometheus" wrote in message
news
Hello all,

A guy at work has asked me to make him some custom pistol grips, and
I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a good finish for
them.

They're going to be Lacewood, and are going to a non-woodworker, so
I'm looking for durable- not traditional.

I'm sort of leaning towards spar varnish or poly, but I had this
terrible thought that with the various powder solvents and oils used
in cleaning a pistol, there might be an issue with the finish
dissolving.

Any good suggestions? What does a gunstock manufacturer normally use
for this?

I've had polyurethane on three different pair of curly maple handgun stocks
I made 20 years ago... they still look good.

John

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 17:02:51 -0500, David Starr
wrote:

J. Clarke wrote:
On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 08:41:48 -0500, David Starr


Never seen a Weatherby?

Prior to the advent of synthetic stocks, one occasionally saw
laminated stocks on competition firearms, made with a combination of
woods intended to produce maximum stability. Some were quite wild in
appearance.

No, never seen one for real. Seen a lot of nice ads with gorgeous color
photos of really nice rifles, but I have never seen or handled a live one.

Weatherby was at one time famous for their very high gloss finish, and
glossy it was.

I strongly agree with the poster who said to use the Birchwood Casey product.
Either that or a simple BLO or similar finish is most appropriate unless
it is for some kind of showpiece or commemmorative pistol. The oil finishes
are about the only ones that can be reasonably easily maintained and
reapplied for touch-ups without removing the grips from the gun.
--
Contentment makes poor men rich. Discontent makes rich men poor.
--Benjamin Franklin

Larry Wasserman - Baltimore Maryland - lwasserm(a)sdf.lonestar.org

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 08:41:10 -0500, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:


"Prometheus" wrote in message
news

There is little risk of solvent or powder issues with the finish. What is
the pistol? Is it really a pistol or are you using the term interchangably
for either a pistol or a revolver? I shoot and I prefer a rubbed finish on
my handgun grips. I have a revolver with poly'd grips and I really do not
like the way it holds in my hand. That said, the bigger thing is that the
grip properly fit the shooter's hand. Close is much different than proper.

It's a Spanish automatic pistol, not a revolver. I haven't seen the
weapon itself, just the grips. I'll be making the new ones slightly
thicker so that they can be tuned to the guy's hand, but otherwise
identical.

The basic rationale behind the project is that the original grips are
pretty grimy, and were cheap walnut end-grain that was not very smooth
to begin with. Some nicely finished lacewood should brighten the
thing up quite a bit, and look sharp with the stainless finish on the
gun.

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 13:05:30 -0500, (J T)
wrote:

Wed, Jan 31, 2007, 5:52am (EST-1)
(Prometheus) doth query:
snip What does a gunstock manufacturer normally use for this?

Lacewood, eh? Probably not going to be handled a lot. Hell, in
that case I might just use paste wax - if it was for myself anyway - but
I'd probably opt for water-base poly instead.

No, it sounds like it will probably see a lot of range use. Lacewood
was my choice, not the guy who asked for it. He didn't care too much,
and I have a bit of lacewood scrap in the shop- since it's so nice to
work with, that was my suggestion for him, and he liked the sample I
brought in.

The guy has done a lot of free welding work for me, so it's kind of a
tit-for-tat job, and I figure I parting with a couple little fancy
pieces of wood won't kill me.

On Thu, 1 Feb 2007 03:40:58 +0000 (UTC),
(Larry) wrote:

I strongly agree with the poster who said to use the Birchwood Casey product.
Either that or a simple BLO or similar finish is most appropriate unless
it is for some kind of showpiece or commemmorative pistol. The oil finishes
are about the only ones that can be reasonably easily maintained and
reapplied for touch-ups without removing the grips from the gun.

Well, that's three in favor of the Birchwood Casey stuff- sounds like
a winner. Removing the grips doesn't appear to be much of a chore in
any case, they're just held on with a pair of screws in each side.

Thanks for all the advice!

Thu, Feb 1, 2007, 6:39am (EST-1)
(Prometheus) doth sayeth:
No, it sounds like it will probably see a lot of range use.snip

Just recalled. Some time back I was experimenting with neutral
shoe polish as a finish. Had some Turtle brand left over, and bought
some Kivi rrand.

Both went on well, altho the Kivi seemed to have a faint "haze",
while the Turtle was absolutely clear. Both had a good "grip" feel.
The turtle stayed perfectly clear and clean, while the Kivi rapidly
pickud up a grime look. This was becasuse I rubbed or touched each
several times a day. Unfortunately I only had an almost can of the
Turtle, and it rapidly ran out, and I haven't found any since - I think
it may not be made any longer. Too bad, because it was an interesting
experiment and one I think would have worked quite well as a finish, and
should have worked very well on pistol grips. I haven't asked the maker
if it's still available or not, tho I did cruise their site. I'm
talking about the paste shoe polish, not the liquid stuff. Anyone know
if it's still made?

Hmm, I wonder how non-slip liquid floor wax would do? Time to do
some more 'speerminting I guess.

Oh yeah, my painted .22 rifle stock is holding up very nicely. I
will probably eventually refinish it tho, probably using very thinned
latex paint, as a "stain" or "wash". And then probably use thinned
Titebond II as a finish coat - all my tests doing that are working out
nicely. Gods above, woodworking is fun.



JOAT
Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will
acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.
- Johann Von Schiller

"Prometheus" wrote in message
news

It's a Spanish automatic pistol, not a revolver. I haven't seen the
weapon itself, just the grips. I'll be making the new ones slightly
thicker so that they can be tuned to the guy's hand, but otherwise
identical.


A much easier project to worry about in my opinion. You have lots more
latitude in your decisions. Kudo's on the idea of making them oversized for
tuning.

--

-Mike-