Grip Treatment For A Ltd Gun...

[boo radley]

I see there are a number of options for treating a standard STI grip, and, in getting a Limited gun built, I'm wondering what kinds of pitfalls / advantages are out there.

I seem to see 3 things -- 1. mostly just stock grips, with the standard (polymer?) checkering. Any downsides to this? How long does the checkering last?

2. Grips that have...stippling? Either they seem to be covered with all kinds of dimples, or squiggly groves. Sometime the STI logo is left alone, sometimes it isn't. I assume this is done just by melting the grip with a hot iron...How does this treatment hold up? I've seen some examples look good; others are kinda ugly, IMO.

3. Grips that just look like grip-tape. I assume the checkering is ground smooth then something like TruGrip, or equivalent is applied?

I'm leaning towards #3, just because I'm use to TruGrip with my Glock. I also think that would reduce the grip size some -- I'm hoping with an extended-release button, I'll be able to mash the release w/out shifting my grip. I can do that with my Glock; on a 1911, and std button, I do have to shift my grip *slightly* to get on it.

OTOH, much as I like supporting EricW, I seem to go through the tape pretty quickly. A set lasts me 1-2months on my Glock, in the summer.

What do you like and why? Thx!

[shred]

1- about forever. It's not very grippy on the sides, however

2- mostly done with a hot iron, sometimes with a grinding tool. Holds up a long time if the feature size is big. Small things get filled with grease and dirt and such eventually

3- usually done by smoothing the grip, applying epoxy resin, then grit. Those seem to wear off a little faster than the rest, but go quite a while as well. Tru-Grip has the advantage of being easily field-replaceable.

lots of posts here on #2 and 3..

FWIW, the Dawson / ZM small-grip MSH rocks if you have even medium-size hands. I've never been able to make a grip-safety work with my grip on an STI until I tried one with the small MSH in it. You can do something similar by grinding away at the plastic one, but I found it hard to get the shape just right.