Aging fake ivory grips ??

[kaotikross]

Give them to a smoker in your family. In six months they'll be ready.

 

[user 52142]

Thanks for all of the great advice, information and sharing your wisdom everyone.

I tried the leather dye I had on the inside of the grips. Didnt really penetrate the poly and not much change.

Going to try the tea option today and see how that works. If it was good enough for John Wayne, then hopefully it will work on mine.

Kind of fun and interesting trying these different methods. Hopefully I'll find one that works. If not, evil bay has a vendor with some, I'll contact them about replacement or learn to live with the white ones.

I'll let y,all know if the tea works.

Thanks again
Bill

 

[Snake Pleskin]

Nice grips, they do good work, but at 379.00 a set. Think I'll have to keep looking.

WOW, I will keep looknig too, For that price I can order another pistol!

 

[Snake Pleskin]

All of the synthetic ivory grips I have seen are some form of polymer and therefor unlikely to accept a stain. I have used a concentrated tea solution to successfully darken stag grips.

And these (very white ones) are the real thing. Please excuse the unmentionables.

View attachment 157176

nice pistols!

 

[garypl]

I’ve used elk stag grips from Grashorn Gun Works on a few of my unmentionable revolvers. They look great and priced reasonably at @$175, if you want to use something real versus the plastic.

 

[user 52142]

I’ve used elk stag grips from Grashorn Gun Works on a few of my unmentionable revolvers. They look great and priced reasonably at @$175, if you want to use something real versus the plastic.

Thanks for the info. Will check them out

 

[user 51067]

I have a couple of Umarex Scofields with white (fake ivory) plastic grips. I roughed them slightly to abate the shine (you could also scratch age cracks into the surface) and then applied a solution of my chosen Fornby's leather dye and alcohol. Works well enough to do the trick and take away the ultra bright white.

 

[LRB]

Thanks ponderosaman. I hadnt thought about bone, I'll take a look.

Take a look at mastodon or mammoth ivory, and giraffe bone. It comes strained, stabilized, and in a wide variety of colors. Not cheap though. The polymer grips can be stained with leather stain, but it wears off with use. Even so, you can touch it up when it gets too light.

 

[Centurion]

Good morning. I’ve been part way down this riad with a pair of plain white plastic grips. I tried tea, wood stain, etc with no real luck. I did hit on the idea of using an extremely coarse wood rasp on the grip panels, following the long axis of each. Then i used coarse sand paper to clean up the roughest damage from the rasp. I followed it up with BLO which gave them a patina and will eventually amber a bit where it collected in the grooves over time.

It’s not perfect but it does provide some pleasing characteristics beyond plain white smooth plastic.

The other answer is Buffalo Brothers grips. You’ll find something there you’ll like for around $100 or so, maybe less.

don

 

[rickystl]

You can buy fake Ivory grips that looked aged. If my memory is correct, you can even choose the severity of the aging.

Nothing wrong with experimenting, but sometime it’s just easier to buy another set of grips.

I believe Cimarron Arms offered imitation ivory grips in different shades of yellow as an option on their pistols. Wonder how they do it ?
Might be able to purchase the grips only from them.

Rick

 

[appalichian hunter]

John Wayne personally "aged" the grips on his Colt with tea. I've had good luck staining certain woods with coffe

Bet the DUKES grips were the real Mc Coy, I really do not think there is much that can be done with the plastic type grips as far as aging.

 

[Rifleman1776]

You can buy fake Ivory grips that looked aged. If my memory is correct, you can even choose the severity of the aging.

Nothing wrong with experimenting, but sometime it’s just easier to buy another set of grips.

Agree. Some materials will patina over time with use. I like micarta as a faux ivory. It is often used by knife makers. I have used it on other projects with great results.

 

[BozoMiller]

Try Googleing Arizona Custom Grips. They have a big selection if nothing else work.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

What about sunlight ? My old cap gun grips used to darken up quite a bit after a summer or two of hard play outside. Unless there is a UV protection in your grips, sunlight could work. My grips would turn a creamy, tannish, yellow ivory color. The outboard side of the grip would be a different color than the inboard side for the most part. That was from a lot of holster carry and a five or six year old with sticky fingers and holes in the knees of his blue jeans.

 

[user 52142]

Try Googleing Arizona Custom Grips. They have a big selection if nothing else work.

Thanks Bozomiller
I looked and they have a great selection and the pics look good. Prices are reasonable also.
I'm thinking of giving them a try.

 

[SlidePicker]

Smoking was a joke, but I bet smoking them will work better than any other ideas I've seen on here yet. Need to rig up a mini-smoker using pipe tobacco.

 

[BatBoy]

Thanks Bozomiller
I looked and they have a great selection and the pics look good. Prices are reasonable also.
I'm thinking of giving them a try.

Great decision. Buy once, cry once.

If there was a documented process to modify the original grips, I’d say go for it.

 

[LRB]

Bet the DUKES grips were the real Mc Coy, I really do not think there is much that can be done with the plastic type grips as far as aging.

The gun the duke wore was a not even a Colt. It was a Great Western Firearms Co. with plastic grips.

 

[user 52142]

Give them to a smoker in your family. In six

Give them to a smoker in your family. In six months they'll be ready.

 

[user 52142]

Smoking was a joke, but I bet smoking them will work better than any other ideas I've seen on here yet. Need to rig up a mini-smoker using pipe tobacco.

Yes, and a good one

Tried the leather dye and soaking in tea. Nothing worked.

Will prob either make a set out of nice wood, or order a set of fake aged ivory.