S*i Grip Reduction And Texturing

[ErikW]

It's been a while since I've done a grip reduction and texturing, so I'm writing this from memory. But I have done three of them, so it's pretty much ingrained. I've only worked on black grips and imagine this might not look too good with other colors.

Tools needed: coarse file or rasp, finer file, coarse sandpaper, finer sandpaper, soldering iron

Starting with the coarse file, take down the checkering. Take off the peaks so it's all level with the valleys. It's easier if you just plan to nuke and pave over the logo and diamonds, rather than work around them. Take off the front strap pips.

Optionally, STI users can remove the lower false grip screws. So I'm told.

Optionally, undercut the junction of the front strap and trigger guard with a round file. This gives you a lower-feeling, better-pointing gun.

Optionally, cut a very shallow thumb groove to facilitate a better reach to the release button. It's only going to make the slightest difference.

For aesthetic consistency, I also removed the checkering from the trigger guard. You can also take some material from the bottom of your trigger guard if your holster can handle it. (Note: this may cause your gun to "point" differently.)

This is a good time to sand the trigger guard sides smooth for nice holster action. They might be chewed up by the holster and benefit from resurfacing, just enough to remove the scratches.

You might as well also blend your grip magwell to your magwell extension. Take a marker and mark up the portion of the grip that interferes with the magwell extension. Take off the extension, and file away. Match the contours of the extension as best you can. Finger-sanding works well here.

Reassemble the gun and insert a weighted practice magazine. Check out the feel. At this point, it's up to you as to how aggressive to be with reducing the grip and undercutting the trigger guard. The front strap will yield amazing gains in feel, and there's much material that can be removed there. Disassemble again when you've got the feel right or you dare go no further.

Smooth out the coarse file cuts with coarse, then fine sandpaper. I had better results wet-sanding. It looked pretty bad after the filing, but sanding really makes it look like crap, as the black becomes gray. Don't worry; it gets better.

With your soldering iron heated up, the first step is to take care of the ugliness. You don't want to be burning indents or stippling just yet. Start swiping quickly along the grip; the heat changes the color back to black. It takes forever and it won't look uniformly black; do as best you can.

Practice your desired stippling on a similar but worthless kind of plastic, such as .... (No, I'm not going to say it.) You can't go deep; you can only make a faint impression. However, the ridges of even the most shallow impressions impart a great deal of traction or bite to your grip.

My stippling pattern looks like something you might find in a petri dish. I made an initial impression and then swept the iron away to the side and up off the surface.

Do not press the tip in; let its own weight make the impression. Do not hold the tip to the grip for more than about .50 to .75 of a second. Do not work in the same area for more than a couple impressions; stipple and move to let the area cool before you come back to it.

I found it best to make a random pattern. Trying to make everything perfectly spaced at intervals ended up terrible. There is beauty in chaos.

Just when you think you're done stippling, you've got another hour or two left.

When you are finally done stippling, decide whether you like the sharp, grippy edges left by your work. They will erode slightly with use. If, like me, you don't like the sharp edges, swipe the iron over them quickly (like the initial re-blackening) to take the bite out of them.

The following gallery thread has a couple pictures of the finished result...

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...=ST&f=45&t=5772

Edited February 16, 2004 by Erik Warren

[10ring]

What wattage soldering iron did you use?

[ErikW]

Beats me. Some cheap consumer unit. The cooler the better, as it melts the grip quickly.

[zorba]

Realy happy, mine came out great

Thanx for the info.

[ErikW]

Update: I got a woodburning iron from a Michael's craft store. It's too hot. Get the low-watt unit if you have a choice.

[Ronnie j]

I did my own but I didn't cut the checkering off first, so it kinda made the grip bigger which was great for me. I think the cheapo irons work best 25w I think. One like mine use a piece of 10 gauge copper wire for a tip and can be shaped to change the "cut" shape.

[Crusher]

Anyone try hooking the iron up to a reostat and reducing the current to reduce the heat generated?

I think ill try it as an test.

[Flexmoney]

Just saw a "hot stencile knife" on HGTV (don't ask why I was watching it). Looks like a wood burner, but runs a bit cooler. It is made to burn/cut plastic...to make stenciles to paint with (so, after you get done with your grip...you can decorate the house. )

Should be about $25

[G-ManBart]

Bringing this one to the top as I just did my grip last night and installed it today. I'll try to post a pic or two tomorrow....turned out great! One thing that I tried, and seemed to work well, was after wet sanding (and drying off) I used a butane torch held away from the grip just enough to heat it up and turn it black again. That gave a pretty even smooth, black finish to the grip prior to puting the texture on it. I hope to give it a try at the indoor range tomorrow...woo hoo.

[Chris Keen]

This thread is WORTHLESS WITOUT THE PICS ............. (Bart)

[Flyin40]

This thread is WORTHLESS WITOUT THE PICS ............. (Bart)

Plenty O pics in here........use the search feature Rookie

Flyin40

[Flyin40]

I thought I would be nice and save you some time so you could practice some more before Miamisburg match.........

and here.........

and here......

and here.......

and here...

Well that should give you an idea..........its really easy to do

Flyin

Edited February 28, 2007 by Flyin40

[G-ManBart]

This thread is WORTHLESS WITOUT THE PICS ............. (Bart)

LOL...I know, it was too late last night to do the pics, but I'll fix that when I get home tonight!

[G-ManBart]

Here's a quick pic...forgive the bad lighting. It actually looks more even in normal light

[Big Bear]

Ok, I read all of thus about reducing and texturing, but what if I need to build up an area? What material should I use? If you have the answer would you IM me please? Thanks for all the help.

[Mo Zee]

Ok, I read all of thus about reducing and texturing, but what if I need to build up an area? What material should I use? If you have the answer would you IM me please? Thanks for all the help.

You could try Double Alpha's Grip Kit

[Loves2Shoot]

Ok, I read all of thus about reducing and texturing, but what if I need to build up an area? What material should I use? If you have the answer would you IM me please? Thanks for all the help.

Marine Tex

[Jasonub]

heres mine. Could not decide what texture so i did both on each side

side a

side b

[tocata]

I'll try to do the same type of job on my polymer grip (I'll train myself on different kind of plastic before,that's for

sure !)

because here we have a warm and wet climate and the grip is regularly slippy with sweat even if we use fast grip liquid oftenly

I found jasonub work very nice

watching pics and reading carefully E.Warren topic,I saw nothing concerning this same job on the mainspring housing

is there any reason for it ?

thanks for helping a timid and beginner gunsmithing lady...

[G-ManBart]

I'll try to do the same type of job on my polymer grip (I'll train myself on different kind of plastic before,that's for

sure !)

because here we have a warm and wet climate and the grip is regularly slippy with sweat even if we use fast grip liquid oftenly

I found jasonub work very nice

watching pics and reading carefully E.Warren topic,I saw nothing concerning this same job on the mainspring housing

is there any reason for it ?

thanks for helping a timid and beginner gunsmithing lady...

You can also do the mainspring housing...some people leave them checkered, I cut them down to match the grip since I relieve that part as well...then I stipple them. A bit more detailed instruction (step-by-step with pictures):

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=67691&view=findpost&p=784502

[tocata]

I'll try to do the same type of job on my polymer grip (I'll train myself on different kind of plastic before,that's for

sure !)

because here we have a warm and wet climate and the grip is regularly slippy with sweat even if we use fast grip liquid oftenly

I found jasonub work very nice

watching pics and reading carefully E.Warren topic,I saw nothing concerning this same job on the mainspring housing

is there any reason for it ?

thanks for helping a timid and beginner gunsmithing lady...

You can also do the mainspring housing...some people leave them checkered, I cut them down to match the grip since I relieve that part as well...then I stipple them. A bit more detailed instruction (step-by-step with pictures):

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=67691&view=findpost&p=784502

wonderfull explanations there ! thanks so much