Thinking about stippling the frame of a Gen 1 Shield. Actually "been thinking" about it for several years. I have a Wellen hobbyist iron with an assortment of brass tips but have yet to summon up the courage to do it.
To Stipple? Or Not To Stipple? That Is The Question...
- Thread starter The Pontificator
- Start date
P320 frames are relatively cheap to practice on.
Just a thought.
Just a thought.
Personally, I don't care for the feel of stippled grips.
I've used bicycle innertube to help with slick grips. That's what I have on my Shield right now.
I've used bicycle innertube to help with slick grips. That's what I have on my Shield right now.
simon1
Self Ignored by Vista
That's what I put on my 2nd Gen. Block before I got the Hogue grip sleeve. That thing has been sitting in the safe for....
I threw caution to the wind and defaced my Glock 19. My "herringbone" freehand pattern is VERY aggressive, but it is unique! I used a soldering pen (Wellen?) and had ground down the point to a chisel point to do the pattern.
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Create "stubble stipple," a beardlike pattern. Or burn a zillion repetitions of some profound message... Or a symbol.
AA
I have stippled 1911 grip panels since 2008. I have stippled polymer pistols since 2004 or 2005. I base my comments on having done 30+ pistols, mostly glocks with a smattering of sigs, MPs and XDs. My training and carry pistols are all glocks and have all been textured by me.
If you are lacking in traction, consider the the various anti slip tape products to include DIY 3m anti slip stair tape.
If you still want something more permanent, I would offer the following:
1. every polymer is a little different Glock v. XD v Sig v MP etc. re how it reacts to the heat
2. the first stick is the hardest
3. go slow and soft
4. practicing on mags and other grips i.e. AR etc is helpful but only goes so far. See # 1
5. I used to do a orange peel texture, I have since moved to a more "tree bark" style as I value function over form
6. Surface smoothing by hand or dremel will yield a better looking product.
7. Use of a motorized device like a dremel can burn right thru a polymer frame if you are careless or go too fast.
8. You cannot texture in a perfectly straight line over the entire pistol, so the juice in trying is not remotely worth the squeeze.
9. For orange peel, I prep the surface smooth, tap the prepped surface at random with single dots. Then I go back a put 8 more dots around the first one making a colony, soon the colonies grow together. You can draw in stop, start lines with a paint pen/sharpie etc.
10. For tree bark, I do the same surface prep but drag the iron to make the bark texture. This technique has a much higher likelihood of damage to the frame if done with too heavy of a hand.
Pics to be attached forthwith.
If you are lacking in traction, consider the the various anti slip tape products to include DIY 3m anti slip stair tape.
If you still want something more permanent, I would offer the following:
1. every polymer is a little different Glock v. XD v Sig v MP etc. re how it reacts to the heat
2. the first stick is the hardest
3. go slow and soft
4. practicing on mags and other grips i.e. AR etc is helpful but only goes so far. See # 1
5. I used to do a orange peel texture, I have since moved to a more "tree bark" style as I value function over form
6. Surface smoothing by hand or dremel will yield a better looking product.
7. Use of a motorized device like a dremel can burn right thru a polymer frame if you are careless or go too fast.
8. You cannot texture in a perfectly straight line over the entire pistol, so the juice in trying is not remotely worth the squeeze.
9. For orange peel, I prep the surface smooth, tap the prepped surface at random with single dots. Then I go back a put 8 more dots around the first one making a colony, soon the colonies grow together. You can draw in stop, start lines with a paint pen/sharpie etc.
10. For tree bark, I do the same surface prep but drag the iron to make the bark texture. This technique has a much higher likelihood of damage to the frame if done with too heavy of a hand.
Pics to be attached forthwith.
How long does it take to do a stipple job and does one technique take longer than the other? I like the look of the orange peel, but I can see how the tree bark could/would be more grippy.
NOTE-be advised that stippling your pistol frame can void the warranty with the manufacture. I am told historically Glock has been fairly reasonable re repairs on guns. If the issue had nothing to do with the stippling, they covered it. That is not something I would count on and I would presume non coverage. A replacement OEM frame from glock is 200 ish shipped max.
I would budget 1.5 ish hours max for an orange peel on a full size glock frame:
1. marking/contemplating stop/start lines
2. surface prep which would could include finger groove removal
3. touch points on the forend of the frame on each side
4. texture applied below the trigger guard
5. texturing of the pistol frame itself
You can add time and break 2 hours easily if your are removing finger grooves, re-contouring the trigger guard area ( i will remove a bit of material where the trigger meets the front of the grip and "break " the lines of the trigger guard area to mitigate "Glock Knuckle", replacing the mag release with an OEM extended one that has been recontoured and textured and cutting on the mag well to give more purchase to rip out a stuck mag. I do not do full on re-contours as I have concerns re removing too much material relative to my skill set.
I do not do "grip reductions" beyond heating the backstrap low and slow (15-20 minutes) with a candle and pushing the area in.
Others inject the back strap area with various epoxies and grind away. I fully acknowledge that is just the ticket for those with small hands who want or need to run a glock. Indeed, I work with a local agency who was buying from Robar for years. Again, I stay in my lane re skill set.
Re the Finger Groove removal-I did that to mine because I came up on 1st/2nd gen glocks that did not have them such that when I started carrying/training/competing with the G34/G35 platform, I wanted everything to "feel" the same and they did not "fit" my hand. Knowing more about the biomechanics of shooting and using a timer in my training, I wonder if those finger grooves do in fact make a difference in settling the gun back down over multi shots, help with a compromised grip, one handed grip etc. I suspect I would see the benefit more in competition v in a more tactical/defensive application. I wish I had a 3rd gen frame (and the ammo) to compare notes side by side. Just ramblin.
I would budget 1.5 ish hours max for an orange peel on a full size glock frame:
1. marking/contemplating stop/start lines
2. surface prep which would could include finger groove removal
3. touch points on the forend of the frame on each side
4. texture applied below the trigger guard
5. texturing of the pistol frame itself
You can add time and break 2 hours easily if your are removing finger grooves, re-contouring the trigger guard area ( i will remove a bit of material where the trigger meets the front of the grip and "break " the lines of the trigger guard area to mitigate "Glock Knuckle", replacing the mag release with an OEM extended one that has been recontoured and textured and cutting on the mag well to give more purchase to rip out a stuck mag. I do not do full on re-contours as I have concerns re removing too much material relative to my skill set.
I do not do "grip reductions" beyond heating the backstrap low and slow (15-20 minutes) with a candle and pushing the area in.
Others inject the back strap area with various epoxies and grind away. I fully acknowledge that is just the ticket for those with small hands who want or need to run a glock. Indeed, I work with a local agency who was buying from Robar for years. Again, I stay in my lane re skill set.
Re the Finger Groove removal-I did that to mine because I came up on 1st/2nd gen glocks that did not have them such that when I started carrying/training/competing with the G34/G35 platform, I wanted everything to "feel" the same and they did not "fit" my hand. Knowing more about the biomechanics of shooting and using a timer in my training, I wonder if those finger grooves do in fact make a difference in settling the gun back down over multi shots, help with a compromised grip, one handed grip etc. I suspect I would see the benefit more in competition v in a more tactical/defensive application. I wish I had a 3rd gen frame (and the ammo) to compare notes side by side. Just ramblin.
As can be seen in my above post, I just reduced the profile of the finger grooves on my G19 but did not eliminate them completely. They fit my hand better than the original factory profile. I've never cared for square faced trigger guards, so rounding the trigger guard was a "must" for me. I don't really care for the look of completely removing the finger grooves, even though it may give a better "custom" appearance. YMMV.
Close- Weller. I use one almost every day at work, but I wouldn’t trust my hand on a gun.
Oregon Trail Defense has an array of tips.
I did a phone case but haven't got around to a pistol yet.
I did a phone case but haven't got around to a pistol yet.
Excellent point that I should have thought of. Do this in well ventilated areas.
