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Grip Tape vs Stippling


Rob D

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I was just wondering if I could get a few opinions as to the advantages and relative disadvantages of using a sandpaper type grip tape as opposed to actually stippling the grip. I have Trugrip installed on my gun, but I've noticed it gets coated in dead skin at some of the main contact points and becomes less grippy (Botton right of the backstrap where my strong hand contacts). I've also noticed the tape starting to peal up, not on the edges, but in ripples as the force of my hand pushes it around the grip. Before anyone asks, yes I did follow the instructions when installing it, very carefully. I cleaned the surfaces twice and made sure to roll over all the edges to seal them.

Anyway, I've been reading up on the home stippling jobs lots of guys are doing to their 2011's and am getting curious. Any thoughts?

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EricW's customer service is right on par with Dillon Precision and he makes a top notch product. Stippling will not give the same aggressive hold that TruGrip gives, but will not need to be replaced every 6-12 months. Ask around and see if you can shoot someones stippled Glock as it truly is a different feel.

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Eric can answer any questions or issues you have. Tru-Grip needs to be replaced on a regular basis, depending on how quickly it wears. Mine easily lasts a year with shooting almost every weekend. An added plus, you can always return the gun to factory condition by taking it off. Stippling is forever.

Edited by vluc
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i use 3M tread tape from the hardwear store. cost about 2 dollars a gun to do and is removable. to me it also offers a better grip and is GSSF legal. i use the sand paper type, the rubber kind i don't like.

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Stippling is forever. In practical terms, that means that stippling is a permanent alteration to the frame which may disqualify the pistol for some sports and may effect the resale price for the same reason. Grip tape, on the other hand, comes off if you don't want it.

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Stippling is forever. In practical terms, that means that stippling is a permanent alteration to the frame which may disqualify the pistol for some sports and may effect the resale price for the same reason. Grip tape, on the other hand, comes off if you don't want it.

+1

Jim

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Stippling will not give the same aggressive hold that TruGrip gives...

my stippled grip (from getn grip) is every bit as aggressive as trugrip. i really liked trugrip, but in hot humid weather, it tended to move around a bit. i prefer the stippling over tape...

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This thread has totally convinced me now NOT to stipple my Glocks.

3M tape is good stuff. Can be custom cut exactly as desired, and easily replaced regularly.

Doesnt stipple wear a little bit smooth after a while?

I use pro-grip lotion-stuff for those sticky days or even when feeling like I want a little more "grab" on the grip. Combined with fresh 3M tape, it doesn't get any better than that.

Use hair dryer to heat grip when removing or applying tape. Use alcohol to get grip completely clean before applying tape. Then heat applied tape up once its on grip and mash it in real well.

Do not ever ever use the cheap Chinese grip tape found at Lowes.......use 3M brand!

BB

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Eric can answer any questions or issues you have. Tru-Grip needs to be replaced on a regular basis, depending on how quickly it wears. Mine easily lasts a year with shooting almost every weekend. An added plus, you can always return the gun to factory condition by taking it off. Stippling is forever.

I'm with Vluc --- and I have Glocks in both configurations in the house. My production guns wear grip tape --- the older one got a Tru-Grip before either the 04 or the 05 Nats, the newer one got Grip tape in early 2006, both are still going strong enough for me. I actually don't like the feel of freshly applied grip tape, because it makes it too hard to shift my Grip when I bobble a draw or reload. Once it's slightly worn in, it provides the right balance of traction vs. slipperiness for my taste....

My limited gun game with a Shanahan grip texturing and paint job when I bought it used --- it's not stippling in the sense of poking the tip of an iron into the plastic, rather it's more scoring short lines at different angles in the polymer. When I first got it I thought it was too slick, and considered covering it with Tru-Grip --- but that would cover the pretty paint. After a short time I simply adjusted my grip, and now I go back and forth seamlessly....

Shanahan's work is topnotch --- if I needed another one done to match the first, I'd send it off to him without reservation. (And that would probably be the only way I'd have another frame stippled --- If I just had to have an exact duplicate gun.) More than likely --- given how rules can change --- I'd leave any future frames stock and just run Tru-Grip....

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I actually don't like the feel of freshly applied grip tape, because it makes it too hard to shift my Grip when I bobble a draw or reload. Once it's slightly worn in, it provides the right balance of traction vs. slipperiness for my taste....

If you're running the plastic 3M tread tape, you can actually take a file to it and dull the texture before - or with care, after - installation so it's not too grippy, right off the bat.

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Dip your hands in caramel and honey before each run. hahaha :P

Anyways I agree with Driver the Get N Grip's I have heard are fantastic, I'm trying to get a hold of one so I can give it a try. Sorry for the pun.

Turtle and Kingman have them and said they are fantastic.

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FWIW, I shoot a Glock and several other Glock shooters I know use TruGrip pre-cut tape on their pistols. Most have tried regular skateboard tape and were not happy with it. I looked at and shot their guns and was just not comfortable with having the tape on the backstrap. As a result, I tried Tac-Grip instead. It works fine for me at about half the cost of TruGrip (sorry Eric). I may eventually change, but this is only my first year shooting USPSA and I tend to work my way up the ladder from the less expensive stuff.

As always, your mileage may vary.

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Another vote for TruGrip. I have just replaced the first set I applied two years ago (gun used exclusively during that time).

If it gets too full of dead skin, scrub it with a tooth brush and dish washing liquid.

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Grip tape is easy to do..

Stippling needs to be done right, any mistakes can be costly.

The TruGrip stuff is great...used it on a Glock and STI frames..

Use skateboard tape on my CZs...about $5 a sheet and comes in different grits so you can change the feel.

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So I am reading this thread and think - "If someone stipples their glock and does not like it, what then?"

So I fire off an email to John Amidon regarding the removal of said stippling through some sanding or abrasive process. The response? Well, let's just say as I stated before, stippling is forever. I still don't understand why it is not considered an external modification to begin with, but...

Hi Vince,

Appendix D4 item 22 prohibits the removal of material on the grips which change the factory profile.

John

-----Original Message-----

From: vlucchetti@verizon.net [mailto:vlucchetti@verizon.net]

Sent: Monday, October 06, 2008 1:44 PM

To: John Amidon

Subject: Production, stippling and removal

John, with grip stippling now being allowable in Production, I have - as

usual - an off the wall question.

Let's say I buy a pre-owned Glock that has had its grip stippled. If I

remove the stippling off of a Glock, using sanding or other abrasive

methods, and I then cover it with grip tape - say Tru-Grip, is that

considered an external modification and therefore illegal? I have

changed the profile, changed the grip size and a variety of other

parameters to accomplish this.

Just asking!

Vince Lucchetti

TY-45480

Edited by vluc
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I also use trugrip for both Limited and Production guns. I use the glue that Eric sells to seal the two pieces together. http://www.ericwesselman.com/store/GripGlue.html I have not had any pealing problems after using this stuff. To get the dead skin off of the grips I use the "air in a can" to remove it. Don't use water, I found it to remove some of the grit.

FWIW I had a stipple job done before but I liked feel of the grip tape better.

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+1 for Trugrip. I've used 2 sets now on my M&P in 2 years. I have had some peeling problems in the past due to cleaning the frame. User error! I had to use a set for a Glock because Trugrip hadn't started making them for the M&P when I wanted it. But a few minor alterations and it worked just fine.

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I also use trugrip for both Limited and Production guns. I use the glue that Eric sells to seal the two pieces together. http://www.ericwesselman.com/store/GripGlue.html I have not had any pealing problems after using this stuff. To get the dead skin off of the grips I use the "air in a can" to remove it. Don't use water, I found it to remove some of the grit.

FWIW I had a stipple job done before but I liked feel of the grip tape better.

That's good to know. I noticed he had the glue for sale but the guy that originally recommended it to me didn't say anything about it. I've heard nothing but awesome things about Trugrip so I think I'll order some glue and use it to put on my second set. I think if I glued the tape to the ride side of the grip, the ripple effect I'm getting from my right hand pushing into the botton right corner of the backstrap might not occur. I think I'll save my soldering iron for soldering stuff, at least for now.

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As a result, I tried Tac-Grip instead. It works fine for me at about half the cost of TruGrip (sorry Eric). I may eventually change, but this is only my first year shooting USPSA and I tend to work my way up the ladder from the less expensive stuff.

No offense taken at all. They're not offering what I'm offering, which is basically sweat equity, engineering services, and the guarantee that you either get three solid grip jobs for your money, no excuses. If someone ever actually produced a product equivalent to TruGrip, I'm just betting it would retail for the the same as TruGrip. I don't worry too much about people cutting out their own grips either. That's how I got started. Hopefully one of them will have a better idea and we'll all be rid of stick-on sandpaper forever. :) I'd really like to see it. Maybe when I get caught up with the day job I can take some time off and work on some new ideas. One of these days I'm gonna figure out something that sticks like hell when you grab it, but is slick when you let go.

I guess I need to look into getting onto the GSA schedule though. That's been a major oversight on my part. :o

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EricW shipped my trugrip set oversea, excellent customer and shipping service.

I do a pretty good job of stippling glock frames, so good I've done more than a few dozen for friends and for a gunshop, that said I really think that trugrip is vastly superior to stippling in terms of pure efficency.

Sure you can stipple the frame coarse in order to have an aggressive texture, but for me that is aestetically unacceptable. Other than that if you stipple with a very coarse texture you run the risk to damage the frame.

HOWEVER..my complaint with trugrip is that even if very little, it alters the shape and index of my glock.

Let me explain, I index my gun feeling the side flats on grips, trugrip "round" that profile even if very little.

I've found after a good deal of trial and error that I shoot better with only the sides covered in trugrip.

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I think if I glued the tape to the ride side of the grip, the ripple effect I'm getting from my right hand pushing into the botton right corner of the backstrap might not occur. I think I'll save my soldering iron for soldering stuff, at least for now.

I had the same problem you did and the glue holds the rear right seam solid with no visible movement since I put it on a new set of grips. However the piece underneath still stretched out leaving the ripple now on both my glocks. Before the glue it was a big peal and big ripple, now it's just medium sized ripple without the peal. I think if the Trugrip were modified so the back piece overlapped the front it would get rid of this occurrence completely.

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