[George]

Dear Friends:

What would be the best way to revive an old set of oil soaked Luger grip panels? They are very dark and I assume it's an combination of oil and dirt over the past 90 years?

Regards,

George

 

[huggiebear]

try Murphy's oil soap with a toothbrush.

 

[Edward Tinker]

I have used that and also, what is that Green stuff that they sell? Some kind of environmental stuff, it works too, but Murpheys has worked the best for me. Clean them once or twice, then let them air dry, do not dry too fast.

Ed

 

[Ron Smith]

Ed, I think you are refering to "Simple Green". Actually a very good all around cleaning solvent. I've never tried it on wood. So can't testify to it's effectiveness.
Ron

 

[garfield]

George:

I use Winzer Tekstrip to clean my badly oiled and soiled wooden grips. I is a paint, vanish and gasket remover. Follow instuctions and wear rubber gloves. It is wood friendly.

 

[Heinrich]

George,
We have good experience with oven cleaner.
May be that there is a similar product on the US market.

 

[Luke]

George -

I second the suggestion made by garfield. I have tried several methods, and the paint and varnish remover seems to work best. Another fairly effective chemical is acetone.

Luke

 

[jacobtowne]

The classic old method is whiting (powdered chalk) mixed with acetone into a loose slurry. The solvent draws the oil and dirt into the whiting, which is then brushed off after drying.
I've tried alcohol, but it evaporates too rapidly.
JT

 

[eroane]

Hello all
This is the product I use to clean wood grips and stocks of excess oil and grime.

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It is availible from Brownells (www.brownells.com)item #083-032-300 @$8.26 for three pounds. You mix it with 1,1,1 Trichlorethane (availible at most Lowes or Home Depots)to make a paste the consistency of pancake batter and brush it on both front and back. The solvent disolves the old oil and grease and the whiting wicks it up. After it has drawn all the oil out just brush it off with a stiff brush. Several applications are generally required. Murphy's Oil Soap does a nice final cleaning.

 

[holster_collector]

quote:Originally posted by Heinrich

George,
We have good experience with oven cleaner.
May be that there is a similar product on the US market.

I have used lime and acetone but found the acetone, which is very volatile, evaporated far too quickly to enable the slurry to work. It might help to keep the slurry and the panels in a small sealed container, but I did not have much success in my attempts. 1,1,1 TCE might be a good alternative so I appreciate that suggestion. I no longer use caustic solutions like Easy Off (NaOH) makes because I had a pair of panels that became soft. I am also wary of such a caustic substance in contact with metal.

Sitting the panels on your dashboard, wrapped in paper towel, will help remove some of the oil.

Good luck.