Strip finish to restain?

[turd]

What is your approach? I have a pair of nice revolver grips in walnut that I want to stain dark. How do I remove the current finish (which appears to be a sprayed on finish) which is very light? Ideas?

 

[m657]

I've only done a couple carbine stocks. My mentor convinced me I would get a more personally satisfying result if I stripped the old stuff off.

He was right. I used a citrus-flavored commercial stripper that basically painted on with a cheap toss-away brush, and waited for it to foam up, then wipe off, I forget with what.

Did a few years ago with surprisingly good results. Haven't gotten around to another project yet.

Good luck, don't be too anxious, it goes way better than you think. I did 0000 wool buff in between a couple buffs with xtra fine sand paper. There was a tool for the diamond grip that I never had to use.

 

[Kevin]

Sometimes those strippers aren't for stains, just paint and varnish. It might turn out splotchy. If it is just a thin stain, but even, I might just make sure there is no wax on them and then try the darker stain. You could try a spot on the inside of the grip first to see how it turns out.

 

[powder smoke]

Some grips have oil finishes hard to say whats best If they are medallions
be careful if you use a stripper. Probably not knowing whats on them sanding
would be your best option. Start with 120 grit and move to 150 etc. till
you get your desired results.

If you use a water base finish stay away from steel wool as the minute particles could rust.
Tru Oil make a nice finish for grips. The only trouble will be if the have medallions if it were mine
I would remove them for the process. Good luck. ps

 

[GunnyGene]

Commercially applied finishes can be very difficult to remove if not impossible without sanding so deeply that it changes the size/shape of the grip. You might be better off just getting some new grips from a custom grip maker.

 

[turd]

Thanks. Some thought provoking replies. Thank you.

The pair of walnut grips that I'd like to strip and stain, then oil finish are from Herrett's. The finish looks fairly thin.

The others are from Ahrends, and look to have the polyurethane finish they talk about on their site.

I need to think about this some more. I haven't refinished anything for several years. The last were handgun grips I sanded just enough to refinish with Tru-oil.

 

[rugerjunkie]

If you use aircraft/marine grade stripper it will take darn near anything off. I have had some finishes that were stubborn but never one that I could not get off. It will pull stain from the wood also. If you have a finish that is being stubborn , wrap it with saran wrap to give it more working time before the stripper starts to dry out. Working it in with a soft wire bristled brush will help score the finish and allow the stripper to work in deeper too without damaging the wood.

I donnt like the sanding method for removing finishes. Makes it hard to keep your shapes and sharp edges like was already mentioned. Save the sanding for the final steps.