Strip & Refinish Uberti grips: How and What?

[Willie Sutton]

Comparing my Ubertis with other offerings (ASM/Richardson, Colt, Centaure, etc) and note that the Uberti offerings stand out by virtue of their very non-authentic wood finish. "Glossy over Orange" sums it up.

Who has experience stripping these and refinishing them? Advice?


Willie

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[swathdiver]

I strip them using either Citri-Strip or Formbys and do a simple (BLO) linseed oil finish or dip them in beeswax first then linseed oil. For as many responses you'll get, they'll be 100 more ways. It's been said that my chosen finish is not particularly durable compared to others.

 

[Prairie Dawg]

Here's an excellent article on stripping & refinishing Uberti guns by Longshot Logan:
http://www.theopenrange.net/articles/ll_uberti_refinishing.pdf
--Dawg

 

[BCRider]

LL is using the tung finish as more of a varnish by the looks of that article. He seems to be wiping on a thin coat then letting it dry.

I prefer a more natural surface that is left when you wipe on the oil then rag off the excess so only the oil IN the wood is left. I repeat that same oil wetting then rub down to remove the outer oil for a total of 3 to 4 coats with a few days in between coatings to let the oil cure hard.

A note on oil finishes. Depending on the product oils take from a few hours to a few weeks to actually react and polymerize to a hard film. The oil finishes don't "dry" as such. It's an oxidizing reaction that polymerizes the oil from a liquid to a hard film. Heat and UV light speeds up this reaction. Cool and dim slows it down. So if you sit a slow drying oil out in the sun and turn the pieces every couple of hours the oil will kick off sooner.

I've noted that the smell of the oil changes when it has polymerized. So let your nose be the guide on when to re-coat.

Here's a picture of a couple of fore stocks I've made and finished using the rub on/rub off method noted above.



These stocks are natural wood with no stain, just 3 to 4 coats of rubbed on and rubbed off polymerized tung oil I got from Lee Valley. I don't really like using stains if I can avoid them. I find that too often they tend to muddy the look of the grain.

The LV tung oil finish is a thicker honey like product unlike the Minwax tung oil finish which is mostly a solvent with only a little actual tung oil. So if you use the Minwax or other watery tung oil product be prepared to use up to 5 or 6 rub on/rub off coatings.

 

[9mmfan]

Stripped three with Citri-Strip, wiped with odorless mineral spirits. After they dried, lightly went over them with 0000 steel wool.

The 1860 Army got Formby's Low Gloss Tung Oil Finish. Five or six coats with light steel wool in between when needed. I thought it was a little light at first, but it's grown on me.


Model P and Thunderer got Minwax Dark Walnut stain followed by Johnson Paste Wax. Should have done a second coat of stain, I'll get around to it one of these days.

 

[Willie Sutton]

The natural oil finishes are the ones that appeal. Glossy = not my choice. Tung Oil or Boiled Linseed oil are the likely choices. Interested in what stains, if any, guys have found needed on the Uberti wood. It's not likely walnut...


Willie

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[Driftwood Johnson]

Interested in what stains, if any, guys have found needed on the Uberti wood. It's not likely walnut...

Au contraire. Uberti uses walnut, just a different species. Uberti uses Circassian Walnut for their grips and stocks. Also known as Persian Walnut, and here in the USA we also call it English Walnut. Juglans regia. The most common species of Walnut in Europe and Asia.

Here in the USA most of our Walnut is the Black Walnut or Eastern Black Walnut, Juglans nigra.

But both are species of the Walnut family. Circassian Walnut tends to be lighter in color than Black Walnut and has a coarser grain.

If you want to stain it to look more like Black Walnut just use any commercial 'walnut' stain.

 

[44 Dave]

I used the same Marine Paint Stripper that I use on furniture and every thing else, and use gloves it eats latex gloves.

 

[Willie Sutton]

Driftwood, thanks. Good information. That makes clear why it's lighter than expected.

Thanks to all who've offered advice as well. Off for stripper and some steel wool.

Willie

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[BCRider]

The wood will also darken a little with time and exposure to UV light.

If you're using oil finishes be aware that any paper towels or rags that have the finishing oil on them need to be laid out open so the oil can dry without building up heat and possibly bursting into flame. Do NOT wad them up in a trash can or a bag to hold the smell in. Doing so with boiled linseed in particular is a SERIOUS fire risk.

 

[Willie Sutton]

^^ Oh yes. In a distant epoch I worked as a rifle assembler at SARCO, assembling gems like Pattern 17 Enfields from actions and stacks of parts. Part of the work was linseed oil stock finishing. It was grounds for immediate termination to not safely handle linseed oil soaked rags (fireproof can, etc). Lessons well remembered.

Willie

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[Driftwood Johnson]

In order to avoid spontaneous combustion when using rags with petroleum based products, I first soak them in water and rinse them well, then wring them out, then spread them out to dry, preferably hanging them on something so both sides can air out.

 

[Willie Sutton]

^^

I toss mine into a can in the yard, squirt on some lighter fluid, and toss in a match...

"Fight fire with fire", I always say....


Willie

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[Crawdad1]

Will, after you strip it off, you might have yourself some pretty nice wood, go from there with your choice of stain. I used Minwax 'Natural' satin stain on mine.
That Uberti 'Red' covers up a lot of nice wood.

 

[Willie Sutton]

Thanks Crawdad.

I wonder why they ruin nice wood with that terrible stain?

Willie

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[kituwa]

You will often see guns that have a beautifull piece of wood on one side and a rather drab piece on the other.You cant always tell what wood will really look like until varnish is on it. I think they use the red cover up stain on their grips because it is just a time saver for them than trying to match up grips for each gun. On the back of the grips on my guns the serial number is penciled on so i assume the grips are fitted to each grip frame. I can see that getting two grips that match well and fitted to each gun would take up a lot of time.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

I can see that getting two grips that match well and fitted to each gun would take up a lot of time.

The way it has always been done with single action revolvers is to assemble the grips to the frame and grind and sand them both down at the same time. Makes a perfect fit every time and is much less labor intensive than trying to fit the grips to a finished grip frame.

 

[Crawdad1]

Will, here's my 1860 Army grips refinished compared to a 49' Pocket with stock Uberti 'Red' grips.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=191488&d=1385226764

 

[Willie Sutton]

Much nicer Crawdaddy...

Willie

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[BigG]

9mm fan: The stripped wood pictures sure look like they could use a good dose of wood filler. Check with Sherwin Williams or Duron. The oil finish should cover the wood not make it look like it's dry.

 

[Crawdad1]

Thank you Mr. Sutton, I should have went with the medium walnut stain to bring out the grain a little more. I like 9mm's Army more than mine though. His grips have a more classic look to them.

 

[9mmfan]

BigG, wood filler has been mentioned to me before in regards to the two cartridge guns. I need to look into it. My only experience with the stuff is to patch a hole in the siding on my house. Stupid squirrels. Between the internet and my neighbors, who own a furniture refinishing/restoration business, I'll figure it out before too much longer. I am no woodworker, just a tinkerer. I agree they could use a little something, but I like them much better that before. Thanks for your input.

Crawdad1, aw shucks, thanks for the kind words. Again.