Stripping Ruger grip frame

[bullseye]

I done a high polish on this Single Six grip frame nearly 30 years ago now, my very first first attempt at doing so, & after untold thousands of rounds and frequent handling since, it's as shiny as ever. Never had any issue with any type of debris on my hands either. Also, needsmostuff, only the Wrangler is ceracoated & Ruger has been powder coating instead of anodizing their aluminum grip frames for several years now.

[bradshaw]

Mar 6, 2021 15:58:05 GMT -5 jeffh said:

Good info, bradshaw and needsmostuff !

I get that - understand it. Anodized aluminum does not leave black residue - and a lot of stuff is anodized these days, and with a wonderful array of color. I think I might look into having my grip frame anodized, whether I leave it "natural" or black, because I"m guessing SOMEONE ha to be offering such a service these days.

I have also read, over and over, that aluminum naturally oxidizes within seconds of being cut and exposed to air and leaves a surface like anodizing so that it won't further oxidize. I don't know if it surface hardens like anodizing, but if you think of aluminum oxide..... pretty hard stuff.

I'll get the coloration of my grip frame by whatever means and see what I can find out regarding anodizing services. If I can do that reasonably, I'll do it, otherwise, I may just experiment with paint.

*****

Bare aluminum which gives me black hands notably includes old aluminum tripods, of which Tiltall after all these years remains the best----and far better than more expensive junk in camera accessory realm. Anodizing eliminates that pain. Oxidizing from atmosphere has none of the advantage imparted by electro-chemical anodizing.

Good to know the aluminum Ruger grip frame laid bare doesn’t stain you’re paw. I also have no such rub-off from a Ronnie Wells aluminum grip frame I have now handled considerable. And no stain on the beautiful deer and elk shin gloves I use for shooting in winter. These supple gloves hold up well, are great to shoot in, and last precisely due to my hot mineral oil & pure beeswax treatment, and because other gloves or mittens are used for wood splitting, chainsaw, and snow shoveling, etc. Likewise, my deer and elk mittens with wool liners for alpine and cross country skiing and snowshoeing are dedicated to those tasks alone.

Ronnie Wells cuts grips frames from billet aluminum softer than he would use for a high tensile application. Don’t remember its number; so far, no staining. I won’t final-finish the aluminum Bradshaw Bison Finger Groove until I know oits final resting place, which may be a SBH Hunter. Probably won’t high polish, as don’t need the glare factor.
David Bradshaw

[needsmostuff]

Mar 6, 2021 16:19:13 GMT -5 bullseye said:

Ruger has been powder coating instead of anodizing their aluminum grip frames for several years now.

Ahhh, powder coat . That explains why it is so hard to get off.

[bradshaw]

Powder coating brings the Glock aesthetic to a single action. Makes a single action look plastic. Whatever USFA did to the Rodeo, it made a single action TOO COLD TO HOLD. The Rodeo may not have been powder coated, but it might as well have. It possessed none of the working iron look of Smith & Wesson’s matt finish blued Highway Patrolman. There may be ways to chemically color aluminum which don’t make it look like a cheap cake.

An aluminum grip frame removes roughly 1/2-pound from the revolver. I like the balance on old Blackhawk, especially with short barrel. An aluminum grip frame balances the indestructible Single-Six, which a steel handle does not. Major Golden shot IHMSA silhouette exclusively with single action revolvers, Ruger to be exact. His Single-Six with 9-1/2” barrel for the rimfire game had the factory aluminum grip frame (Production categories require a STOCK gun), which balanced perfectly. The Single-Six with steel Bisley grip frame makes the 9-1/2” barrel feel like a pencil, not what I’d want while squeezing on yonder tiny steel turkey. The late Major Golden might agree.

No revolver delivered a more murderous recoil to my hand than the old Blackhawk .44 Magnum stroking early, hot-stepping factory lead SWC GC. The old anodized aluminum grip frame looked peaceful, yet bit like a Rottweiler. Were I to shoot said Blackhawk today, to approximate original balance it would wear an aluminum Ronnie Wells handle. Not be powder coated! Stained in some fashion, perhaps anodized, or left raw.

Aside from saving weight, one or another RW aluminum grip frame allows one to personalize BALANCE. This balance caper plays into recoil attenuation in the hand.
David Bradshaw

[JM]

I once lived along a river that was infested with ferocious blood thirsty Gnats. They would form dark clouds as they would swarm their victims. One of the popular repellents was Avon Skin So Soft. I have not used that product, but I am familiar with the end result of Skin So Soft & aluminum canoe paddle shafts. Whatever is in that Avon product strips away the outer protective coating on those paddles & forever turns everything black that comes into contact.

[gcf]

I've been wondering if NP3 might be a good option for a stripped Ruger, or one of Ronnie Wells alloy grip frames.

wrightarmory.com/np3-metal-finishing/

[jeffh]

Mar 7, 2021 8:43:03 GMT -5 bradshaw said:

..............Aside from saving weight, one or another RW aluminum grip frame allows one to personalize BALANCE. This balance caper plays into recoil attenuation in the hand.
David Bradshaw

Well SOMEBODY gets it!  I get some strange looks when I say I put an aluminum XR3-RED on my 5.5" Flat Top 44 Special.  To me, the weight distribution is perfect and mimics my 5.5" OM 45 Colt or converted 6" OM (357) 44 Special.  I've swapped a lot of grip frames around and THIS is the perfect fit and feel for me.

[rhino]

Mar 7, 2021 8:59:15 GMT -5 JM said:

I once lived along a river that was infested with ferocious blood thirsty Gnats. They would form dark clouds as they would swarm their victims. One of the popular repellents was Avon Skin So Soft. I have not used that product, but I am familiar with the end result of Skin So Soft & aluminum canoe paddle shafts. Whatever is in that Avon product strips away the outer protective coating on those paddles & forever turns everything black that comes into contact.

I used skin so soft when I was in boot camp at Parris Island, S.C. Damn sand fleas would start munching on you in the cool mornings and evenings. About 4 years later I was stationed at M.C.A.S. Beaufort, S.C., I was prepared.....little bastards would eat your ass up if it weren't for Avon. 😂 I don't know what it does to aluminum but it kept the blood thirsty sand fleas at bay.

[caryc]

Anodizing does not peel off. It's actually a form of corosion. Check "anodizing" on Wikipedia. When I needed blackened ferrules for my grips, I used Ruger's aluminum ferrules. I sent them out to a company to be black anodized. There is a regular anodizing process and then there is a "hard anodizing" process. At first, I requested hard anodizing. But this process actually burned like maybe 5 to 10 ferrules out of 50 making them unusable. Then I switched to regular anodizing and had no more problems after that.

They explained that it was because the ferrules were so small and had thin areas on them that the hard anodizing burned them.

[Lee Martin]

If you have access to a bead blast cabinet, there's no quicker way to strip anodizing. Use fine media then sand with 500 or 600 grit paper. Hit it with a buffing wheel after that and you're set. Here's a .41 Magnum I did as such:



-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Chasing perfection five shots at a time"