I just acquired a beautiful, all original Model 1890 Winchester. It does have a few minor very light scratches in the butt stock that are not bad at all. The wood at the wrist is darker than the rest of the stock where someone's dirty, sweaty hand probably gripped it. Is there a way to remove some if not most of this discoloration without damaging the original finish~??

More likely oil seeping from the action.
First try 409; that won't work, but it will make you feel good.
I use Xylene, but it eats finish. Or TSP; both will remove oil from wood.
If it was sweat, it would not have turned the wood dark.

I like Naphtha as it won't harm the finish and really dissolves oil. But an initial wipe with 409 is good to get organics off. Heat the stock and look for oil to seep out. If you see it, get some whiting from Brownells and mix it with alcohol. Paint it on the dark areas and heat the wood. This will drive out the oil.

Easy off oven cleaner is excellent at removing oil from wood.
Be careful with it though. It will effect the finish also.

quote:

First try 409; that won't work, but it will make you feel good.

Sometimes I'm reading through posts quickly, but if I'm not careful, I'll miss gems like this that have me smiling through the next day.

dwcars - I have used rubbing alcohol to clean grungy wood finishes. A fine bristle vegetable brush like this one

would work best to clean deep into any checkering. When the wood squeaks it is clean. Might get away with just a wax after words with some paste like Minwax.
No matter what you try, clean the underside of the grip first to test.

The dark areas are definitely not from excess oil because of where they are located. The dark area is right where the palm of a hand would lie if someone was carrying and holding the rifle by the wrist. Interestingly, the area is where the palm of a right handed shooter would be. The opposite side of the wrist where the fingers would be have considerably less of the darkness.
Thanks to all of you for your comments~!

Murphy's Oil soap is really good at cleaning the cork grips on fishing rods. Knowing how grungy those can get, it might work on wood too without being harmful to the finish.