Restoring plastic, Bakelite, gutta-percha grips?

[commygun]

All my guns are shooters and (since I don’t own anything historically significant) I’m not shy about refinishing anything to improve it’s appearance.

Non-wood grips are a problem, though. Reproduction grips for handguns made mid-century or earlier can be a crapshoot fit-wise, especially for European pistols in my experience.

So, any tips or tricks for taking some of the years off the originals? Restoring the sheen, smoothing out the scratches and shallow dings?

 

[BigBlue 94]

For restoring shine to plastics, i like to use mothers mag and aluminum polish. It removes virtually all the oxidation.

Some composites react differently to different chemicals. Some shine up with, say, acetone, while it melts others.

For the gutta percha and hard rubbers, saddle soap might be the answer.