These came on a 57-1 I snagged which needs a good cleaning. I'm not sure if these are salvageable but I'd like to try. From what I was told they were sitting on foam which compressed and stuck to the gun and the grips. Any thoughts on how to remove the residue without damaging the grips? I oiled them up trying to loosen it up but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

looks Like tar? Try Murphy’s wood soap first.

__________________
Plant garlic in the fall

To me, that dark stuff looks like something mostly on the wood and not in the wood. If so,

I'd start with 3M Adhesive Remover, available in most auto parts or auto paint stores.
Dampen a clean white paper towel and rub the bad area. Don't keep at it too long, the 3M will start to soften the finish after a couple of minutes. Let dry and repeat as necessary.

WD-40 is good for cleaning stuff, or maybe a good paste wax?

To those that know, what is the basic finish that S&W uses on grips? Is it polyurethane, varnish or oil? Same for rosewood or walnut? I would like to explore touching up some of mine or refinishing down to new wood.

I don't know what S&W does but Culina grips are known for their quality and finish; here are a couple of links where they describe their finish and how to do touch-ups:

https://www.culinagrips.com/grades-and-finishes/

https://www.culinagrips.com/faqs/

Lowe’s carries Murphy’s Wood Soap. First thing I do before reworking vintage wood furniture is to do a cleaning with it. You wouldn’t believe how much gunk, old polish, years of dirt build up it removes. Two buckets of black water on a recent project. Just restored a Drexel 1940s Dining table for my wife to use as a desk. Bought for $25 at estate sale. After wood soap, went over with some stain to cover scratches, dings, rub down with steel wool, then 2 coats of poly rubbed with 0000 steel wool between coats. Looks like new.

You can just sand the grips and put some Casey's Tru Oil on them.
Those grips aren't stained, it's the natural wood color, with oil or clean over it to bring out the color. Sanding and Tru Oil, even if just spot done won't change the color.

Try some "Goof Off" on them. It's an orange oil cleaner, won't harm the finish, but removes gooey stuff like adhesive residue, bug guts, and tar. You could also try a buffing pad, it's got a rough surface but is non-abrasive. They are sold in the sandpaper products section at Lowe's and Home Depot, and look like a white Scotchbrite pad.

As others have stated, it appears the problem is on top of the finish, not in it. So best to try removing it with mild chemicals as suggested before using anything more than a very fine abrasive. Why disrupt the factory finish if you don’t have to?

An "expert woodworker", who was considered the final opinion on all things gun stock related, another forum once stated to never, ever use Murphy's Oil soap on gun wood. I've used it lightly for years and never found any issues, but I'm not an "expert"

I would try various products that are know to remove adhesive labels .
The foam has broken down and stuck to the grips so it's like removing something sticky . WD40 , Goo-B-Gone , mineral spirits .
I have a sneaking suspicion that some of the top finish might come with it .
If so let me suggest something to restore that top coat of finish .
Min-Wax Tung Oil Finish . It's a Tung oil based finish with some dryers and hardeners added , rub on two or three thin coats and it will restore a factory like looking finish and it dries hard.
Try and save the factory stain / color and the touched up grips should look great.
This is how I restored the factory grips that came on my model 58 (avatar)
Gary

__________________
Certified Cajun
NRA Member

Strip them and refinish them........problem solved!

Looks like tape residue. A little "Goo Gone" or lighter fluid on a rag.

As suggested Murphys wood soap will dissolve the foam sticking to exterior of grips without harming finish. Also GooBeGone will work. Remove grips before cleaning use good quality screwdriver/

Thanks for all the insight guys. Will be working on the affected grip side based on your recommendations but here is the firearm after a lot of elbow grease cleaning it up.

Looking Great ... you are doing a good job!
Gary

__________________
Certified Cajun
NRA Member

Thanks, here is a before and after of the affected side. Got a great price on it due to the condition but with a bit of elbow grease I'm really happy with it so far. Still not done but a significant improvement.

The last thing I would try is sanding them.

__________________
You're shy a few manners.

Another vote for goo-gone

__________________
SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

Either Murphy's Wood Soap or GooBgone sparingly with drying between applications

__________________
SWCA 3417 HF 642 NRA-TC

Dang! That gun sure cleaned up pretty.

There is a product you can get at Home Depot called Howard's Restor-A-Finish. Use it with a little 0000 steel wool and lightly go over the entire grip being careful to keep it out of the checkering. You can even put a little on an old toothbrush and use it to clean the checkering. Just make sure you wipe off the excess so you don't clog up the checkering. The product is water thin. It removes contaminates and will blend the finish where it's been abused. I have been using it for stock touch for years. The product used to be Holmer Fornsby finish restorer for you old guys like me. It's pretty hard to do any damage if you use it according to directions.

Which color would you recommend for Goncalo Alves?

__________________
- Post No Bills -

GooGone oil, a 'sticky stuff' remover. never failed me and never attacked the original finish. No Murphys Oil soap!

The product to touch up or redo the S&W factory finish is Birchwood Caseys Tru Oil. You won't be able to tell any difference. If you sand on S&W grips too deeply you'll need to touch up the stain color first. Furniture touch up pens work great and come in many different shades of stained wood colors.

__________________
Jim
S&WCA #819

If those grips were mine the first thing I would try is Dawn dish washing soap and very warm water with an old tooth brush rubbing gently. It may take several applications, but I'd do everything possible not to harm the finish. Just my 2 cents worth.

Although they do sometimes have the potential to dull the finish, I have many times used plain old Alcohol Wipes, just like what they use prior to administering an injection. Same as regular bottled medical alcohol. It works great as a cleaner & degreaser, BUT you must be cautious to make sure it won't damage the finish of what you're attrition clean !! Also, as numerous others have stated, you really can't beat 'Goo Be Gone'. GOOD LUCK, S&W M-57's aren't all that common any longer, & make excellent Trail Guns.

Best, dpast32

Polish up the metal surfaces with Turtle Wax Chrome Polish and Rust Remover... it's made to do old school chromed steel car bumpers... but when gently polished by hand on a soft cloth , will help the finish of a nickeled revolver . Makes the surface shine and protects the metal with a light finish .
The blued model 58 in my avatar had a bad case of rust freckling and light areas of fine surface rust ... I thought the finish a goner but the Turtle Wax C P and R R did such an excellent of removing all the rust that I decided to leave the factory finish it came with .
Gary

__________________
Certified Cajun
NRA Member

Snagged these while working on the originals