Aging a Dragoon

[ShotgunDave]

Scooby, you are absolutely right about the grips. That will be tomorrow's activity. I need to run to the store for some Easy Off oven cleaner. It should strip the clear right off, then I'll oil them up.

G Dog, thanks for the tips and the videos. I'm going to sit and watch them right now!

If you get oven cleaner on bare wood it will likely turn it black and it will be too deep to sand out. Don't ask me how I know.

Thanks for the heads up! Glad I've still been unable to get to the store!

[mike116]

Over on the 1858 Remington Forum a member who overhauls original firearms claims he cleans all types of gunstocks with oven cleaner.   I have heard this mentioned in other places also.   I don't see why it would do any damage if the oven cleaner is washed off completely.

[ShotgunDave]

I guess I should explain why I thought oven cleaner would work. I spent 40 years of my life as an automotive and aircraft painter. We used to use Easy Off oven cleaner, to remove paint from some plastic bumpers for repair. It was easier than sanding the paint off. The oven cleaner softened the paint right up and we just used a putty knife to scrape it off. Now, you had to use it quickly because it would sometimes make the plastic swell, but generally it worked really well.

 We also used it on aluminum wheels to remove the clear coat. If a wheel was scraped up really bad, we'd strip the clear off to repair it. Again, it was easier than sanding the wheel by hand.

So this is why I thought it would work well on the grip of the gun. I thought it would soften the clear up so I could use a plastic scraper and get it all off. Then once it was dry, sand them and refinish them with oil instead of clear.

[Hawg]

Over on the 1858 Remington Forum a member who overhauls original firearms claims he cleans all types of gunstocks with oven cleaner.   I have heard this mentioned in other places also.   I don't see why it would do any damage if the oven cleaner is washed off completely.

I did it to a rifle stock once. The first coat didn't take off all the finish so I did it again and where the wood was bare from the first coat it turned it black. I tried sanding it off and then tried scraping it. That black stain was deep.

[mike116]

There ya go.....  two different experiences with different results.   I can only report what I've read,  I haven't done it myself.   I'd be cautious given what Hawg's experience was.
Dave,   you might try it on the inside of the grip first or on a similar scrap.   

[Hawg]

Read this and it has a few pics. https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=554022

[ShotgunDave]

Hawg, thanks for that link. After reading it, I'm sold. No oven cleaner on the wood!

[Captainkirk]

Aircraft painter, huh Dave?
Ask me about that some time. I've done a few paint jobs in my time.

I would suggest Zip Strip on the grips. I've used it on wood before with no effect on the wood itself. It's not the strongest stripper on the market but for a small item like grips where you are only trying to remove clear coat it should work fine. I did an entire .22 rifle stock with zero problems once.

[ShotgunDave]

Yes Sir Capt. About 10 years of my career was painting aircraft. I did a lot of fabric covered stuff as well. I worked at a shop at Chino Airport in CA. We did a lot of antique aircraft. (warbirds and such) It's way off topic here, so I'll not bore everyone with the details. I also worked for Gulftream for 3 years. Fun stuff!

Thanks for the tip on the Zip Strip. I believe they sell that at Lowes in the paint section. Hopefully I can get over there today.

[Captainkirk]

Yes Sir Capt. About 10 years of my career was painting aircraft. I did a lot of fabric covered stuff as well. I worked at a shop at Chino Airport in CA. We did a lot of antique aircraft. (warbirds and such) It's way off topic here, so I'll not bore everyone with the details. I also worked for Gulftream for 3 years. Fun stuff!

Just head on over to the Off Topic Discussion thread and post away merrily!
Spent my entire professional career (40+ and counting) as an A&P/IA and I've painted several complete aircraft (light singles) and done numerous touch-ups over the years. Currently managing a pair of Falcon 2000 Classics and loving it!
I actually have a very nice coffee table book..."Chino"...which goes through a lot of the stuff that lives there. Really cool book, some gorgeous classic aircraft!