I just picked up and tried some Ahrends grips for the first time. I'm impressed. Shot the gun with them on last night and I really can't tell the difference, in terms of recoil, between these and the Houge rubber grips with exposed back strap.

My question is - what would be a good method of getting the grips black while still letting some grain show through. I will sand them down bare and use a high quality HVLP to re-spray them.

Stain or paint?

I really like the feel of the grip as it is. I would prefer checkering, but there seems to be a certain 'roughness' for a lack of a better word, that aids in retention to the hand. I don't want to ruin that with a coat of poly, or glossy paint.

Would love some ideas please.

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Cerakoting them is a possibility.
The applicator will abrasive blast them, which puts a bit of tooth into the wood, bringing out the grain a bit.
A very tough finish that will hold up well.

__________________
-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

I prefer to do these myself. Adds some fun factor to it. Great idea though! Thanks for the suggestion.

Sand them down with 0000 steel wool until your down to bare wood/no finish left, then apply several coats of black/walnut stain until they are to your liking, be sure to follow the directions on application and light sanding between coats. Afterwards apply a coat of paste wax, don't use polyurethane!

Will steel wool take them down to bare wood? I was thinking a 600 - then 1000 finish.

Curious - the Ahrends come with the paste wax? I know the Houges do.

Yes, it takes more elbow grease but is worth it, you can start with a 000 steel wool to cut through the poly coat faster if you want and work up to 0000. You can use a stripper like citrus strip if you want to, just be sure to rinse the grips with a wet cloth afterward.

I used 0000 steel wool with a little paste wax as a lubricant on my Ahrends and in about 45 minutes I had all the old poly off. All Ahrends are finished with either poly or tung oil, some are stained, but usually only the maple grips, yours do not appear to be stained but you need to remove the poly or tung oil before applying the stain. The paste wax finish will give it a protective coat after your done staining, it is a finish that leaves the wood grain visible, for a more natural look.

Ahhhh.... bells go off! I would have thought the grips were stained. So... it's the natural color of the wood, and I'm only stripping the clear coat. Roger that!

Easy enough. They have these on Ebay right now so there is no wait time. Wanting the black, but not wanting the wait! These in the picture will go on my black 586 L comp. I like the brown grips on a black gun.

This...

Buy Behlen Solar-Lux Stain, Jet Black, Pint at Woodcraft.com

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Carry.."hope" isn't a strategy

MIKE- what's the difference between this and a min wax black Walnut?

Oil-based stains like Minwax black walnut are mostly darkened with solids that have to get into the open pores of the wood. There are only so many open pores to hold these "chunks" of dark solids and the wood will reach a certain level of darkness and no more. "Black walnut" is not black, it's a dark shade of brown.

Note that Ahrends sells maple grips stained in black walnut (dark brown) but also jet black.

If you want BLACK, you need to use a water or oil-based black stain or dye. Liquid black shoe polish is an example. Try a little "black walnut" stain on a piece of pine, then try a little liquid black shoe polish and see the difference.

This Behlens will instantly and completely dye a piece of maple jet black and also dry to the touch in 5 minutes. And, because it is thin, watery and jet black with no suspended solids, it will not hide the figure in a piece of curly maple. I used to pay $5-6 each for black composite spacers for shotgun recoil pads. Now I cut them out of pine and dye them with Behlens for pennies apiece.

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Carry.."hope" isn't a strategy

Cool... thx. I definitely want a black that lets the grain show through. To be clear, I have the Moradillo grips.

Ebay has a seller that had a bunch so I bought two sets.

Is it going overboard to spray this stuff on?

looking forward to seeing your progress on this project, sounds fun...

No need to spray the Behlens; it's a stain, not a finish. It will soak in 100% with zero build-up. When dried, it can be top-coated with whatever finish you like. For such a small project of only a few square inches, I'd use a few coats of hand-rubbed tung oil or a rattle can of polyurethane if I wanted to go that route.

If preserving the figure were important to me, I'd be certain to apply some Behlens to the inside of the grips first to see if I'd be happy with the look. The stuff is water-thin and will penetrate deeply and quickly. So removing it will be a considerable chore. OTOH, it is equally important that all traces of original finish be removed first. Any patch of tung oil or poly remaining from Ahrends' original finish will block absorption of the stain and cause blotchiness. They must be thoroughly prepped; stripped or sanded to completely bare wood before staining.

Personally, I would strip with 220 grit paper and follow with 320 grit just to make sure no sanding scratches are visible. Continuing with finer grits is wasted effort IMO and potentially counterproductive in terms of absorption of the stain.

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Carry.."hope" isn't a strategy

I'm confused.... I'm currently under the impression that this wood is not stained. That the color is the woods natural color and sanding won't produce any different look to the wood.

They are not labeled as tung oil, and don't feel like a poly was used.

Your impression is correct. What's confusing?

__________________
Carry.."hope" isn't a strategy

Lol. I suppose nothing. I will use steel wool to strip the clear coat and then get on with it.

I buy my grips from Ahrends directly. I do have to wait, but I can specify no finish. I like to lightly re-profile the grips with 60 or 80 grit paper to get the exact shape I want. For instance, I round off the points of the groves, and using paper wrapped around a dowel, I work down the area where my fingers go. I generally round the edges some more.
I finish with Pure Tung oil (no additives like driers). I put more Tung oil on the grips a couple times a year, after several original coats.
A rule I have heard is to apply one coat a day for a week, then one coat a week for a month, one coat a month for a year, then an annual coat, all well rubbed in. You can use fine paper (400 or 600 wet or dry type) between coats for a smoother finish. For the first coats, I thin with some Turpentine, for better penetration.

Best,
Rick