i have a set of service grips that fit my pre 27 3.5 in almost perfect except along the bottom area where the serial number is, question is what do i use to "fit" them to the frame?

hand sand? maching sanding? was thinking sander then using fine paper to dress them up and oil them back to match?

i love the look of the grips i know there for an older smith but i like the looks thanks

What I have done in the past to grips that are a little big in certain areas is: Take them off of the gun, put one on and scribe the grip on the inside along the surface of the grip frame where the grip needs fitting. I then take my time with some fairly fine sand paper like maybe 220 and wrap it around a small block of wood and sand that area. I do not take it all the way down to the scribed area at first. I keep checking until the grip is very close to what I want then sand with very fine paper till it fits flush. Then I do the other one the same way. As far as finish goes I use Formbys tung oil. I give them 2 or 3 coats per instructions on the can. If that area is glossier that the rest of the grip I use steel 000 steel wool to achieve the desired matching finish. Usually I just go ahead and refinish the whole grip, but not always.
Hope this helps. Go slow and don't take to much material all at once.
remember to leave a little bit for the fine paper to finish the fit.
Peace,
Gordon

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better have that checked

All depends on how much they need to be sanded. If just a drop is required you can do it by hand, but if there is more extensive sanding to be done you can use a vibrating palm sander with fine paper, then finish off with extra fine 400 or 600 grit to really smooth them out. If you are using a sander, go slowly and carefully because they remove more material than you would think in a short amount of time. Check the fit often as you proceed. After you get them fitted correctly, you can finish them with a stain to match the grip finish IF required, then poly urethane them to match the original finish. If the grips are not a glossy poly urethane, you can always use Tung Oil to produce a nice satin finish - but the trick is to match the original finish as close as possible.

Chief38

thanks guys using the scribe make sence, its the flat area that needs fitting approx 1/16 ill use that method and go SLOOOOW thanks im lucky everywhere else fit like a glove...