Pietta 1860 Army Grips stain rubs off

[RonRC]

Finished shooting the revolver on Sunday for the first time and rinsed the gun with a soapy water before bringing it home for a thorough cleaning. The grips looked dull and streaky after the rinsing. When I wiped the grips with a rag, the rag was coated with an orange-brown residue.

At home, I rubbed in some True Oil to bring back the luster and just used some Renaissance Wax for protection.
This is what my cloth looked like after rubbing on the True Oil. It looks similar to the rag I used to wipe the grips at the range - covered with a residue from the grips.

Have others experienced loss of finish or stain on Pietta grips?
Any recommendations on treating the grips to avoid further loss of finish?
By the way, the revolver shot very well.
Thanks,
Ron

 

[garra]

When I was adding some BLO to my hawk handle the other day to give it some finish, I whipped it down when it was wet with leather dye. Soaked it right up, just whipped it smooth, don't think that will rub out as it is in grain of the wood.
Came out a nice reddish brown.

 

[FishDFly]

Finished shooting the revolver on Sunday for the first time and rinsed the gun with a soapy water before bringing it home for a thorough cleaning. The grips looked dull and streaky after the rinsing. When I wiped the grips with a rag, the rag was coated with an orange-brown residue.

Why rinse the grips in water, they are wood are they not?? Do you rinse your rifle stocks in water?

 

[AZbpBurner]

Most likely Pietta was the manufacturer. I have several Piettas and an equal number of Uberti cap and ball revolvers. Uberti does a better job of selecting and finishing their wood, using a varnish-type finish to seal the wood.

Over the years, I've stripped and refinished all my Piettas, some when unfired & right out of the box. While some of the wood looks really nice, other grips look like they were made from wood fallen out of the firewood cart as it passed by Pietta's front door. From what I can tell, all have some kind of finish incorporating stain and maybe BLO, applied together in a single step.

Strip with Citristrip or any furniture stripper, clean and dry, then stain. I usually use an American Walnut stain, followed with hand rubbed applications of BLO, allowed to cure for 2 days between applications.

 

[bpd303]

Also what lube were you using. I have noticed some lubes attack the finish on factory grips.

 

[RonRC]

Finished shooting the revolver on Sunday for the first time and rinsed the gun with a soapy water before bringing it home for a thorough cleaning. The grips looked dull and streaky after the rinsing. When I wiped the grips with a rag, the rag was coated with an orange-brown residue.

Why rinse the grips in water, they are wood are they not?? Do you rinse your rifle stocks in water?

At the end of the shooting session I removed the barrel, frame and cylinder and did a quick spray to get the burnt powder off before packing the gun away for the trip home. I always do a preliminary rinse to my muzzleloaders after shooting.
Some of the water dripped on the grip stocks so I wiped it off. That is when I saw the orange-brown on the rag and the streaks on the grips.
I've never seen a little water do that on any gun I have, black powder or not.
Ron

 

[nkbj]

The stain coming off happens with Italian replicas sometimes. Had to rub down the stock on a musket really good to stop it from bleeding brown.

 

[RonRC]

The stain coming off happens with Italian replicas sometimes. Had to rub down the stock on a musket really good to stop it from bleeding brown.

I had a feeling that might be the case. Looks like a little sanding and refinishing is on the schedule.
Thanks,
Ron