Micarta care and longevity

[BigBoreStandingAAA]

My new Mod 83 has the black micarta grips.  What do I need to know and do to keep them looking good and serviceable over the long run?  Not knowing what micarta is, I looked it up and it appears to be a paper or other substrate soaked in a thermosetting plastic which is formed into grips, etc under high pressure.

Are the micarta grips sensitive to cleaning solvents?  What about environmental factors such as sunlight, rain, humidity, etc - can any of those factors cause damage?

If they can be damaged should I provide any care for them other than keeping them clean and dry?

THanks in advance for any info that you provide.

[Lloyd Smale]

micarta is about the most durable substance grips can be made of. Dont use them for a hammer and about anything else you do to them will be fine.

[alamogunr]

Before retiring, I worked for a company that succeeded Westinghouse, the developer of Micarta.  We used large quantities of paper/phenolic electrical grade Micarta.  A neighbor and I have mailboxes mounted on a platform I fabricated from Micarta sheet.  It has been out in the weather for many years and except for not retaining paint, it is as good as when I first put it out.  I painted it because this grade is an unattractive brown color, although the brown color gets more attractive as the need to repaint grows.

I have noticed that knife makers use a lot of fabric(linen) based Micarta.  When shaped, it has an attractive appearance not unlike laminated gun stocks.

I have seen mention on various boards that Ivory Micarta is no longer available.  I have a set of Ivory Micarta on a Linebaugh gun.  It may be durable but I intend to take very good care of these stocks.

John