Favorite pre-permanent grip material?

IPshooter · Post by **IPshooter** » Wed May 08, 2013 3:25 pm

Hi all,

I like Morini grip paste for a permanent grip fit, but I would like to test additions to the grip prior to adding the grip paste.

The main reason I need to add material is the best grip for me is similar to the Rink grip with the "thick" option.

Does anyone have a favorite test-and-remove material that works well?

TIA

Stan

trinity · Post by **trinity** » Wed May 08, 2013 3:49 pm

There is simple masking tape. You have to use many layers if you want to build significant amount. However, because of that, you can have a lot of fine control.

There is antislip tape (carpet or skateboard). It is thicker and has a rough surface, making it quite good on grips. Again, it sticks to itself, so you can build layers.

There is sugru (sugru.com). Which is more permanent, but still easy to remove. It is basically shapable rubber. It is easy to work with when it is soft, you can shape it to whatever you want. After it hardens in 24h, you can use a sharp knife to change the shape.

Before sugru I've also used playdoh modelling foam. It also hardens in 24h and can be easily shaped.

-trinity

seamaster · Post by **seamaster** » Wed May 08, 2013 4:23 pm

I love Sugru.

Mix black and red to get the desired wood color. It comes with a color pallet, telling what to mix with what to get what color.

Grip it to form your hand shape. Scrape off edge. Use a pencil to stipple texture Let it set 24 hours. Voila. Perfect.

Please resist the temptation to re-grip it every hour. It is human nature wanting to touch and admire your own creation. Don't do that.

Besides Sugru, I have also used Instamorph moldable plastic.

But the best texture is the combination of Sugru and epoxy quick wood. The combination of soft and hard material just feel right. Color perfect.

Gwhite · Post by **Gwhite** » Wed May 08, 2013 5:22 pm

How easy is the Sugru to remove? I help coach a collegiate team, and it would be great to have something that a student could use for a couple years reliably that we can then pop off when they graduate.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » Wed May 08, 2013 6:07 pm

Once Sugru has made a successful bond - which is usually, on most materials, as it's a rather versatile and effective adhesive - you will probably find that scraping with a metal blade is necessary to get the last bits off the finish. This can be problematic where a wooden grip is concerned, as it might result in some of the wood being scraped/carved off when removing the Sugru. But it'll be easier than epoxy, certainly. It's about like carving a hard eraser once cured. Rather easy to carve with a sharp knife.

Fortitudo Dei · Post by **Fortitudo Dei** » Wed May 08, 2013 7:20 pm

This stuff sounds great. I have a grip that I want to bulk-out and Sugru looks like it could be ideal. The only thing I can't work out (and Sugru's website isn't much help here) is the weight to volume ratio.

How large (in terms of volume) is a 5 gram pack? Would the 8 x 5 gram packs (totalling 40 grams) be enough to bulk out the average grip?

Or would buying the 3 x 20 gram packs be a better option? (only £1 more...but you have to use the entire contents of one pack at once)

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » Wed May 08, 2013 8:33 pm

Unfortunately the question is a bit ill-defined. Seems a difficult thing to quantify, what anyone in particular might mean about bulking out an average grip. If I had a Baikal 46m stock grip and wanted it to fit my hand well, using Sugru only, I'd probably want to order 2 of the 60 gram kits. That's because the 46m grip is tiny in my hand, feels silly. Yet I've read a lot of accounts of 46m owners who call the grip 'huge!' or similar, and they end up happy after removing some wood here and there.

From my experience with Sugru (don't have any handy at the moment, should order some as I'm always running into little repairs I could use it for then making do with some other material) the 5 gram blobs are slightly smaller than an AAA sized battery. That's an internationally recognized standard battery I think. So it'd be fairly easy to take a blob of Silly Putty or Plasticine or whatever putty you have handy, make a cylinder the size of an AAA battery, then cut off maybe 1/4 of the length and squash what's left flat. That should be about the same as 5 grams of Sugru. Then put that on your grip and see if you can guess how many of those you'll need. I'd recommend adding too much then carving until it fits well. My experiences with texturing Sugru on a pistol grip were a failure, as the stuff is too soft when stippled to offer the sort of support to the skin that stippled wood does. Then again, stippling might help with hand sweat for some shooters, so your call.

6string · Post by **6string** » Thu May 09, 2013 3:00 am

Two other good materials are:
"Friendly Plastic" pellets. It is a plastic that melts in hot water and can be shaped while soft. It hardens upon cooling and is reusable. It is white and does stand out a bit.
Another is "Woodfil" epoxy. It comes in a walnut color stick. The catalyst and resin form the core and exterior of the stick. Just break off a chunk and roll it until the two parts mix. It dries to a nice looking wood tone. It can be removed with sanding or careful chisel work, but is a bit tough to get out of checkering.

Sugru does sound promising as well...

Jim

IPshooter · Post by **IPshooter** » Sun May 12, 2013 4:30 pm

All,

Thanks for all of the replies. But to be clear, I was looking for suggestions for test materials, not permanent.

I will be giving silly putty a try.

Stan

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » Sun May 12, 2013 6:36 pm

Unless your hands are somewhere near freezing, silly putty won't offer anything remotely like a grip. It will smash out of the way wherever there is pressure. And since you need to exert some pressure on the grip, the putty will flow away from anywhere your hand presses. I'd recommend layers of cheap masking tape as being a much better trial material for grip shaping. And once established you can peel that off as a piece and have a decent model of what needs to be added.

6string · Post by **6string** » Sun May 12, 2013 11:46 pm

OK. That makes it a bit clearer. I would still recommend "Friendly Plastic". It does not have epoxy-like adhesion. But, I would place a layer of Saran wrap around your grip first. Then apply the grip material. Friendly Plastic sets quickly, once it cools in fact. Next, peel off the material and Saran Wrap. The grip material can then be temporarily re-attached with anything like two sided tape, or wall poster putty.
I have actually used the Saran Wrap & Friendly Plastic technique in order to make molds of small parts, clamping cauls, etc. It works!

Jim

IPshooter · Post by **IPshooter** » Mon May 13, 2013 7:34 am

6string wrote:OK. That makes it a bit clearer. I would still recommend "Friendly Plastic".

Jim

Thanks, Jim. Where might I find Friendly Plastic?

Stan

Randy152 · Post by **Randy152** » Mon May 13, 2013 1:40 pm

IPshooter
You need to use Fimo or Sculpy 2 found at any craft store. You can mold it, but it is not soft. You bake it to harden. You can sand or drill, or add additional layers. You can use it as a permanent solution if you want to, or you can heat it again to remove it. Can be stained to color match as well. Here are the 2 pieces I did for my LP10E

tedbell · Post by **tedbell** » Mon May 13, 2013 3:03 pm

Gwhite wrote:How easy is the Sugru to remove? I help coach a collegiate team, and it would be great to have something that a student could use for a couple years reliably that we can then pop off when they graduate.

I've used Sugru on my pistol grips, and also removed all of it, several times. It "peels" off with some effort, but with no complications. I've never had to scrape it, and have never had it do any damage to my grips. It is great stuff in that you have plenty of time to work with it and mess with it like a temporary putty, but then just set it aside for 24 hours and let it set. If you don't like it, peel it off and try again.

Thanks,
Ted

6string · Post by **6string** » Tue May 14, 2013 3:51 am

Hi Stan,

You can get Friendly Plastic from a few sources:

http://www.amaco.com/shop/product-430-f ... llets.html

You can also get it on eBay from a few sellers. Simple Plastic looks to be similar. The method I mentioned previously should also be fine with Sugru if you prefer to use that.
This is an interesting thread. I can see this being a useful way of creating a model for a custom grip maker to create a quick working model.

I hope you tell us your results.

Best Regards,
Jim

6string · Post by **6string** » Tue May 14, 2013 4:07 am

Hi Stan,

I just saw this item on Ebay. I am not the seller nor do I have any connection to the seller. But, I place the link here so you can check out the details and embedded video:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/500g-Polymorph- ... 27c279cf97

Here is just the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... hVuc6RNyaw

Apparently, Friendly Plastic is the USA trade name for this stuff which is otherwise known as Polymorph.

BTW: The cold water dunk to "cure" the material is optional, just to speed up the process. You probably don't want to dunk your pistol!

Jim

Mike in OZ · Post by **Mike in OZ** » Tue May 14, 2013 9:41 am

I've used the low temp thermoplastic spheres before on my prone rifle stock. Excellent material to work with. Localised reshaping can be done using a hair drier to heat specific features in the grip. No waste, no sanding required. Get it wrong? Just chuck it back in the pot of water!

IPshooter · Post by **IPshooter** » Tue May 14, 2013 10:43 am

6string wrote:Hi Stan,

I just saw this item on Ebay. I am not the seller nor do I have any connection to the seller. But, I place the link here so you can check out the details and embedded video:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/500g-Polymorph- ... 27c279cf97

Here is just the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... hVuc6RNyaw

Apparently, Friendly Plastic is the USA trade name for this stuff which is otherwise known as Polymorph.

BTW: The cold water dunk to "cure" the material is optional, just to speed up the process. You probably don't want to dunk your pistol!

Jim

Jim,

Just watched the video. That's some very cool stuff. Thanks!

Stan

RobStubbs · Post by **RobStubbs** » Tue May 14, 2013 12:54 pm

I always use blu tac - google it if its not a common item in the US. I have used it for many years and it can be used for semi permanent small fixes but is best peeled off and replaced with plastic wood or similar as it remains pliable.

Rob.