Ahrends Finish fix

[steamloco76]

I've stripped two sets of urethane finished Ahrends with acetone rubbed with bronze wool. I then sanded the contours to a more rounded finish and used Formby's low gloss tung oil to refinish. Great looking grips for only a couple hours effort over a few days.

 

[one eye joe]

I've stripped two sets of urethane finished Ahrends with acetone rubbed with bronze wool. I then sanded the contours to a more rounded finish and used Formby's low gloss tung oil to refinish. Great looking grips for only a couple hours effort over a few days.

Did you break the sharp corners in the front, steamloco ? ? Any particular advantage to bronze wool ? (I'm not a woodworker) Can ya post some pics ? We all love the gun porn........

 

[steamloco76]

Did you break the sharp corners in the front, steamloco ? ? Any particular advantage to bronze wool ? (I'm not a woodworker) Can ya post some pics ? We all love the gun porn........

Yes, I broke the sharp corners in the front and lightly rounded the edges of the butt. The Ahrends are a bit too sharply contoured for my hand. Wet sanded them with the acetone and 240-320-400 grits wet/dry sandpaper. I've used the same technique to restore three sets of badly scratched S&W Combat stocks. All have been finished with low gloss tung oil, then a coat of wax after the oil is fully cured.

I always use either bronze wool or scotch brite pads when working on anything related to a firearm. If any small steel wool particles get embedded on the back of the grips they WILL cause rust on the gun frame.

As for a photo- I'll have to take some. Haven't photographed either set of grips since the re-finish.

 

[one eye joe]

Steamloco, what do you use for wax ? ?

 

[Maximumbob54]

Most of my poly finished Ahrends have come just fine as is:

But I do have to agree the older finish did look much better:

But the new finish comes right off with a little Klean-Strip:

Before:

After: (On the right)

I'm in the middle of stripping the poly finish from some moradillo right now and just finishing a few hand rubbed in coats of Johnson's Paste Wax. So far it is really bringing out the grain of the wood that seemed trapped under the poly. This is them as I bought them:

I will edit this once they are added to the 19-4 they will then live with. I wanted to bring out the grain and darken them up a bit.

I guess they aren't that much darker but it's enough for me. Maybe...

 

[robctwo]

I've been buying them unfinished and doing my own tung oil, then carnuba wax.

 

[03snake]

Those look great with the tung oil and carnuba. These are my Retro Combat in moradillo
with the factory hand rubbed tung oil:

 

[jjgi5150]

Hi all,

The last two sets of Ahrends that I got for my K-frames seemed to be of an oil based finish. I love the FG Combats on my snubs but they did need a bit of trimming/reshaping to better fit my thicker fingers....and to take off that rather sharp squared edge the grooves had.

I shaped a few spots to better suit me, sanded, and then used some Watco teakwood marine finsish in a can that has to be about 20+ years old. They came out great, and the match is so close to whatever was there that I can't tell the difference. It's very durable stuff as well...I used to use it on wood stocked hunting rifles I used to build...


This picture is not the best lighting, as the outdoor light is reflecting off the front edge of the grips, but I haven't had time for more photos lately.

Take care,

JJ

 

[one eye joe]

WOW, you did a great job JJ. Those grips are BEAUTIFUL.........

 

[steamloco76]

I stripped these N frame Ahrends coco bolo with acetone, sanded the finger contours to ease the edges and then finished them with a light coat of tung oil, then multiple coats of hand rubbed Johnson's Paste Wax.

 

[jjgi5150]

WOW, you did a great job JJ. Those grips are BEAUTIFUL.........

OEJ.... Thanks, I feel like they need a good bit more work.
When I get some time after I retire, I'll probably strip them down completely and do a full refinish job on them. I have a matching set...only a bit prettier, on my 2.5" 66....

I think the oil finishes are definately the best, IMO...easy to fix/cover any small scratches and they just look better too...


Take care,

JJ

 

[one eye joe]

I stripped these N frame Ahrends coco bolo with acetone, sanded the finger contours to ease the edges and then finished them with a light coat of tung oil, then multiple coats of hand rubbed Johnson's Paste Wax.

Those look GREAT, steamloco. Does the Johnson's alter the color of the grip ? Is it the stuff in the big yellow can ? Does it protect against solvents ?

 

[one eye joe]

OEJ.... Thanks, I feel like they need a good bit more work.
When I get some time after I retire, I'll probably strip them down completely and do a full refinish job on them. I have a matching set...only a bit prettier, on my 2.5" 66....

I think the oil finishes are definately the best, IMO...easy to fix/cover any small scratches and they just look better too...


Take care,

JJ

JJ, I agree that the ones on this 66 have a prettier grain, BUT HONESTLY, I can't imagine you improving that other set very much by stripping and refinishing them subsequent to you're retirement. Of course in person, you may be seeing blems that I'm unable to detect in your pic. They sure do look fine to me..........

 

[one eye joe]

OEJ.... Thanks, I feel like they need a good bit more work.
When I get some time after I retire, I'll probably strip them down completely and do a full refinish job on them. I have a matching set...only a bit prettier, on my 2.5" 66....

I think the oil finishes are definately the best, IMO...easy to fix/cover any small scratches and they just look better too...


Take care,

JJ

JJ, I agree that the ones on this 66 have a prettier grain, BUT HONESTLY, I can't imagine you improving that other set very much by you stripping and refinishing them subsequent to your retirement. Of course in person, you may be seeing blems that I'm unable to detect in your pic. They sure do look fine to me, however..........

 

[stmry]

Definitely an improvement. They look great.

 

[steamloco76]

Those look GREAT, steamloco. Does the Johnson's alter the color of the grip ? Is it the stuff in the big yellow can ? Does it protect against solvents ?

Yep, the stuff in the big yellow can, and it doesn't seem to mind Hoppes, Kroil, Break Free or Weapon Shield too much.
The best part of the wax is if you get any spotting, applying a little fresh wax covers it up. Use the wax on you gun too

 

[one eye joe]

Yep, the stuff in the big yellow can, and it doesn't seem to mind Hoppes, Kroil, Break Free or Weapon Shield too much.
The best part of the wax is if you get any spotting, applying a little fresh wax covers it up. Use the wax on you gun too

WOW, thanks for the response steamloco. I'll be usin' this stuff from now on.......