Sarge Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Well, I actually found a skateboard shop. Who'd a thunk there would be one 2 miles from the house? For $5 I could not resist the urge to try it myself before springing for $30 for Tru Grip. I will let you all know how it goes. And if anyone around Cincinnati cares the shop is on Cincinnati-Dayton road in West Chester and is called G Rides. I told the guy I would post that since there are not many skateboard shops around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 Well the results are in. I learned alot from doing this experiment. So to cut to the chase it is a PITA to get grip tape too look extremely good. I am sure Tru Grip would be far easier and better looking. BUT I took one posters advice and tried cutting it into <1/2" strips and wrapping the grip where they do the most good. This worked wonderfully and made a major difference when I shot it today. I ended up with three wrapped around the grip with a 4th just under the beavertail along the top line of the grip for a thumb area. I had managed to get the grip covered completely but there were some buldges and tears but the strips feel just as good and lock the gun right in. So for now, and for my money this fits the bill nicely. Whoever posted that idea earlier, thanks alot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwrangln Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 (edited) Cool deal. To date my grip tape experience with my M&P consists of a small piece in front of the take down lever, and a small piece on the bottom of the trigger guard. I'm not using it as grip so much as an index point to subconsiously check my grip during dry fire practice and shooting. I know I have attained exactly the proper grip on the draw and reload by feeling the grit on the tip of my support thumb and top of my support index finger. I was having trouble with my support hand ending up too far forward which ended up pushing shots off to the right when I went fast, the tape has helped cure that. Cheap and effective. edit: You can get it at hardware stores too, sold as stair tread grip, might be a bit cheaper than a skate shop, dunno. Edited March 9, 2009 by kwrangln Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Gundry Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Skateboard tape is awesome for simple curves, but any complex curve deserves Tru-Grip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
target1911 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I forget the brand of skate tape that Tru-Grip uses but it IS skate tape. When you get the actual brand name you can call up the company and they will tell you where you find it locally. I found some here in Ft Worth and tried it myself. YES it is a PIA to cut but I did it and applied it to my G34. You cant tell the difference between mine and the real thing. One trick to putting it on is put the back strap piece on first. Then when you put on the main piece, start in the middle of the front strap and work outwards. You can use a heat gun to slightly heat the tape which will help it form to the curves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted March 11, 2009 Author Share Posted March 11, 2009 I forget the brand of skate tape that Tru-Grip uses but it IS skate tape. When you get the actual brand name you can call up the company and they will tell you where you find it locally.I found some here in Ft Worth and tried it myself. YES it is a PIA to cut but I did it and applied it to my G34. You cant tell the difference between mine and the real thing. One trick to putting it on is put the back strap piece on first. Then when you put on the main piece, start in the middle of the front strap and work outwards. You can use a heat gun to slightly heat the tape which will help it form to the curves. The stuff I got was MOAB brand. The skater dude said it was the stickiest(glue wise) out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sperman Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I forget the brand of skate tape that Tru-Grip uses but it IS skate tape. When you get the actual brand name you can call up the company and they will tell you where you find it locally.I found some here in Ft Worth and tried it myself. YES it is a PIA to cut but I did it and applied it to my G34. You cant tell the difference between mine and the real thing. One trick to putting it on is put the back strap piece on first. Then when you put on the main piece, start in the middle of the front strap and work outwards. You can use a heat gun to slightly heat the tape which will help it form to the curves. The stuff I got was MOAB brand. The skater dude said it was the stickiest(glue wise) out there. When I get home tonight I'll send some pictures of how the grip tape is laid out on my M&P. It's taken a while to come up with what I've found to be the best (but not perfect) layout. The other thing I did was take a soldering iron to my backstrap and un-stipple it. The tape seems to stick better to the smoother surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffWard Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 PICS PLEASE... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sperman Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 It's not real easy to see in the photos, but any place there is a compound curve I cut out a notch in the tape to help it lay flat against the grip. The little thumb patches have been on there for months, including several trips through the sonic cleaner. The front strap can usually survive the sonic cleaner once. The back strap has to be changed every month or so. Like I said, it's not perfect, but it's the best I've come up with so far. I just replaced them this week. I wish I still had the old pieces so I could show you what they look like laid out flat. I've been tempted to draw them out in CAD to get them a little more symmetrical and see if I could find someone to cut a batch of them for me. I never seem to have time to get around to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
target1911 Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 That looks good. You can get rid of most of those ripples on the front strap by using a light heat and, as I stated above, start from the middle and work out. Heat will also help it stick better. Just make sure you use rubbing alcohol to clean the surface before application. I would suggest either dropping the dime for actual trugrip (just once) or find someone that has a spare set that you can trace on to paper to use as a template. That is the only way to get all of the extra cuts that helps everything lay flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
target1911 Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) oops....double post Edited March 12, 2009 by target1911 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiserb Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) That looks good. You can get rid of most of those ripples on the front strap by using a light heat and, as I stated above, start from the middle and work out. Heat will also help it stick better. Just make sure you use rubbing alcohol to clean the surface before application. I would suggest either dropping the dime for actual trugrip (just once) or find someone that has a spare set that you can trace on to paper to use as a template. That is the only way to get all of the extra cuts that helps everything lay flat. One other good tip is to buy Nash or other rubber backed skate board tape. This type can be stretched and molded with heat. To get the exact shape of the grip for cut outs you may want to try: Taping up the grip in 3M Blue Painters Tape. Trim as needed. Slit the tape up the front of the grip Peel tape and stick to the skateboard tape Cut out skate tape using blue tape template. Here is my grip from using the Blue Tape method above: Edited March 12, 2009 by kaiserb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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