Can dirty grips be cleaned up?

[Malysh]

I recently bought a 1955 Colt Agent at a good price.
The original checkered wood grips are very worn but solid. They have a lot of dirt which has darkened their appearence. The checkering has been worn almost completely off.

Is there any way to clean the surface darkening (dirt and grime) off of the grips so they look a little brighter?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[DCWilson]

An acetone bath will take grime off of wood, but it will take off any residual finish as well. If you're going to go that route, be ready to put some kind of finishing oil on the wood as soon as it dries out from the acetone. You run a chance of splits and cracks otherwise.

A toothbrush helps once you have the grime softened up.

Use in a ventilated room. Seriously.

 

[Marksman]

Murphy's Oil Soap applied with a tooth brush will remove the surface dirt & grime without stripping the finish. I would try that first and see what the grips look like before using acetone. If after you get the surface cleaned up there is old gun oil and dirt soaked into the wood, then you can proceed with the acetone bath.

 

[Geno44]

Cleaning grips

I use Simple Green for a lot of stuff. I would use it straight and a very soft old tooth brush and let it soak a few minutes. This shouldn't remove finish.

 

[Malysh]

Thanks, gents, for your suggestions.
I will try one of the milder cleaners. I'm not looking to refinish the grips, just to clean a bit of surface grime from them.

 

[setxn]

Murphy's Oil Soap gets my vote also. It is really good stuff.

 

[guitar1580]

+ 1 on the Murphy's Oil Soap..... use very hot water with it to help loosen up old greasy grime.

JP

 

[Malysh]

OK, I'll compromise. I'll try Murphy's Oil soap and an old toothbrush