PLEASE Help me with finishing Maple Revolver Grips

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MilitantBEEMER

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So I bought a set of unfinished L&S Maple grips for a Ruger Wrangler. They are finish sanded with 220 from L&S. I am looking to get a nice finish on them that has some dark black/gray hue to them. What would be the least difficult way to accomplish? I do not want to get into a situation that requires more than dye/stain, finish sanding and a clear protective finish to top it off. I know some of you are woodworking masters and was hoping you could point a newbie like me in the correct direction.

Here is a photo of them on the Ruger. You can see the color of the frame and cylinder. I want some hue of those colors or similar.

If I am in over my head, let me know.

Thank you
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SPDguns

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The best way- Use Minwax stain, available at Lowe's, Home Depot or Wal-mart. The light maple color will take numerous coats, keep adding it until you get the color you want. They have several dark black and gray colors to choose from. Let the stain dry minimum of a week then top coat with Birchwood Casey Tru-oil. You are not in over your head, but it will take some time. 5 minutes or less per application of stain and finish.
 

Perplexed

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You might try a gel-based stain like this:

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/general-finishes-gel-stain-black-pint
Letting it sit just a few seconds before wiping it off will allow you to control the amount of darkening of the wood. Try it on a scrap piece first with varying amounts of set time, and see if it works for you. Kinda expensive, but I’ve used it with pleasing results.
 

MilitantBEEMER

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The best way- Use Minwax stain, available at Lowe's, Home Depot or Wal-mart. The light maple color will take numerous coats, keep adding it until you get the color you want. They have several dark black and gray colors to choose from. Let the stain dry minimum of a week then top coat with Birchwood Casey Tru-oil. You are not in over your head, but it will take some time. 5 minutes or less per application of stain and finish.
Do I let it dry between applications of the Minwax stain? What is the best way to apply? Will an old cotton tshirt suffice? Do I need to worry about staining and sealing the back side?
 

MilitantBEEMER

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Pretty. Go a path that's not trod by everyone else. I, but that's an odd I, would burn it with a torch and then put a few layers of varnish. VERY COOL and I've never seen it on a pistol grip. I've done it on work benches, shadow boxes bar tops...
Regardless. Test on some simular grained/type sanded wood. You'll find the one that works for you.
I can just see me burning the grips like a bad piece of toast 😂
In all seriousness I think it may look pretty neat if I did do the burn first. What would you use for the flame?
 

crrcboatz

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I seal maple rifle stocks with a mixture of boiled linseed oil, satin polyurethane, and turpentine. I hand rub the mixture in then let it set for 24 hrs. This seals the wood and begins the finish process all in one.
I then sand the wood with 600 wet/ dry , wipe it dow in with a tiny bit of mineral spirits. Set for 2 hrs then repeat the process again . Each tim I up the sand paper to 800 then 1000 grit. Finally. After completing the 3 rd or 4 th time I use pumice and olive oil to get the desired gloss and smoothnesss I want.
On small projects like this this would be a snap. If you decide u r interested, send them to me and I’ll do them for free. Pay it forward then .

Blond maple like that is FAR too pretty to EVER stain. Please please don’t do that to them
 
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