Refinishing a Pistol Grip

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Tank
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Refinishing a Pistol Grip

Post by Tank » Sat May 18, 2013 6:55 pm

My favourite gun, my FAS 606. This pistol has been used (always a goood thing) and well maintained but of course the grip is showing signs of wear. One of the big issues is the palm shelf. It is retained by a small cylindrical retainer but that is the issue - it is quite small and over the years the tightening and re-tightening has pulled the retainer almost through the grip. I have plans for that though 8-)
It has that "dried out" look that people try to describe. It is not really anything other than "used" and what I have done is remove all the bolts and retaining washers and placed it into double bags - after pouring in my usual slug of thinners. Lovely stuff that thinners :shock:

Image

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The offending retainer, I will be making something a little more substantial:

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So next installment tomorrow when I "debag" the bits!
graham.
I’m going off to go find myself. If I’m not back by the time I return, keep me here.
https://tamesidepistol.club/

micken
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Re: Refinishing a Pistol Grip

Post by micken » Sat May 18, 2013 7:03 pm

Could be a classic first on the forum. Grip refinishing and tweaking, essential personalisation/customisation.
I'll be watching this with interest and like the way you've started.

Cheers, Mick

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Tank
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Re: Refinishing a Pistol Grip

Post by Tank » Sun May 19, 2013 6:17 pm

Well, today I took it from the bags of thinners and put the parts into my washing up bowl, complete with fresh thinners and gave the grip and palm shelf a good scrub with a brass brush. This is what I ended up with:

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You will notice the single 6mm hole in the palm shelf. What happened here was the force of the retaining screw acting on such a small area started to pull the bolt head (yes, I know they are Cap Screws really) through the back of the palm shelf. Here you can see my answer to this, I have machined the hole oval and I will make a substantial metal washer to fit the cutout. When the new bolt is fitted this will cause the rear of the palm shelf to pull into the sides of the grip and it will be much more secure:

Image

You can also see that I have bored out the hole for the bolt retainer. It is now at 12mm as I have ordered up a piece of leaded steel bar at 12mm diameter. This will be a much better and more supportive retainer than the little bit of 8mm bar shown above.
graham.
I’m going off to go find myself. If I’m not back by the time I return, keep me here.
https://tamesidepistol.club/

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garryt
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Re: Refinishing a Pistol Grip

Post by garryt » Sun May 19, 2013 6:43 pm

looking good,

What will be the final finish?
I've always had great results from Briwax.
Duracoat service available.
http://www.gt-pistols.co.uk/

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Tank
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Re: Refinishing a Pistol Grip

Post by Tank » Sun May 19, 2013 7:31 pm

Well Garry, my preferred final finish, as yours, is Briwax. But I first like to seal the wood with an oil/poly mix. I am not satisfied that the wood would not go very dark at the first application and this is something I want to avoid at all costs. I try not to involve water in any of my stock/grip refurbs but I am seriously considering bleaching this grip. I am waiting another 24 hours to let the last of the thinners evaporate and I will think about it. I may start with just household bleach and take it from there, though I do have some Oxalic Acid.
Like I say, I'll think about it. One of the factors influencing me is that this is most definately not Walnut. I haven't decided what it is yet although it is certainly a hardwood of some description it is very light, no real density at all.
graham.
I’m going off to go find myself. If I’m not back by the time I return, keep me here.
https://tamesidepistol.club/

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garryt
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Re: Refinishing a Pistol Grip

Post by garryt » Sun May 19, 2013 11:34 pm

Yes,

It's difficult - wood will be wood.
Natural Briwax does not darken the finish by too much. Might be worth just rubbing a bit of water on a discreet area. That will show the shade it will prob turn with the Briwax applied. The graining and colours shown look quite nice as is and would still look ok a shade or two darker.

As I said though, wood will be wood and can be a little sod - not giving the final finish you may want / expect..
Duracoat service available.
http://www.gt-pistols.co.uk/

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Re: Refinishing a Pistol Grip

Post by leadhead » Mon May 20, 2013 12:51 pm

You might like to experiment with HOT Walnut Oil (simple salad dressing) This will enhance any grain present and will darken only very slightly.
Let it stand for a minimum of 24 hours and it will dry almost completely. Rub off with paper towelling and add wax.
If you cannot remove all the marks from the stippling area, then Nitromoors or similar, will do the job without harm. As long as it is washed completely off with washing up liquid and positively no abrasives are used. Just a cut down paintbrush.
Veteran of many years of restoration!! Never had any repercussions with this method.

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Tank
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Re: Refinishing a Pistol Grip

Post by Tank » Wed May 22, 2013 4:26 pm

So far so good. Here you see the inside, the unseen part of the grip. I have carefully coated it with a two pack epoxy clear coating. This is to stop the wood being attacked by mineral oil (engine oil) when the gun is being cleaned.

Image

Now I have made up the new retainer for the palm shelf and the oval insert to stop the palm shelf itself being destroyed because of such a small contact area. You can also see that the grip is now much lighter in colour that the years of use put on there. It has one coat of finishing oil in this picture but I have now applied the second coat. I will leave it to dry overnight and tomorrow I will give a judicious application of Briwax.

Image

The old retainer looks wholly inadequate for the task. I must say the new one fits lovely, I only have hand tools nowadays so no luxury of a workshop so the secret is - New Files. They cut that much quicker and even the cheap ones are reasonably accurate to use if I steer them correctly :lol:

Image
graham.
I’m going off to go find myself. If I’m not back by the time I return, keep me here.
https://tamesidepistol.club/

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Tank
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Re: Refinishing a Pistol Grip

Post by Tank » Sat Jun 15, 2013 3:03 am

Now for a bit of a follow up on this. I discovered that there was a bit of play in the grip and pit that down to the way the grip was actually mounted to the frame.
After a while it became annoying so I investigated further. Turns out that the main grip retaining bolt had pulled through the actual material of the grip allowing the movement due to slack. I used a flat bottomed bit and continued the 12mm hole I had made for the new retaining post down onto the shoulder and made a new machined washer up to put under the head of the retaining bolt.
Hopefully this is the end of it and I can continue to use the gun for some years to come without worrying about the grip. FAS 606 grips are a bit thin on the ground:-)

A fantastic gun to use and own. Does exactly what it is supposed to do without fuss and a terrific trigger that I am only just getting used to.
graham.
I’m going off to go find myself. If I’m not back by the time I return, keep me here.
https://tamesidepistol.club/

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