"Henry Nettleton" Army Grip Finish

[Don Kenna]

I am the proud owner of a late production USFA “Henry Nettleton” Army revolver.  I do shoot the revolver a fair amount and plan to do more rather than less of the same in the near future.  While some normal finish wear is inevitable, I am somewhat concerned about the revolver’s walnut grip.  As I’m sure was the case with the original Army revolvers upon original issue, the grip has only the most rudimentary finish.  So rudimentary, in fact, that I wonder how much protection against weather and dirt accumulation the current finish (or lack thereof) would provide.  Perhaps making matters worse is that about half my .45 Colt shooting is with black powder.  I’ve no problem dealing with black powder fouling on the revolver’s metal parts, but black powder fouling on—and likely ground into--poorly sealed wood might be a different story for me.

My questions, then, are these:

1)   What finish renewal or treatment did the Army use on their Colt SAA revolvers’ grips?

2)   What finish, such as it is, did USFA use on their replica Army issue revolver grips?

3)   While we’re at it, what finish did USFA use on their civilian one-piece wooden grips?  (I have one of those, too.)

Thanks in advance, gents.

[GaryG]

USFA used Tru Oil.   3 coats.  You can add additional coats and build up the finish. 

[Don Kenna]

Thanks, Gary.  Perhaps the grip is better sealed and protected than I had thought.  I'll try one more coat of Tru-Oil and see what happens.   

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