Glock finger groove removal and stipple

[Irelander]

I have stippled a few Glocks and now I am trying my hand at removing finger grooves. I have removed the finger grooves on my Gen3 G19 but have not went so far as to remove the factory "checkering". I already find the grip feels better for my hands.

I am curious if it is kosher to take the plastic down that far to remove the checkering. I would like to remove the checkering to give myself a nice smooth area for stippling. Can anyone verify that there is enough material between magazine release spring recess on the inside of the magwell and the bottom of the factory checkering on the front strap to take the material down that far and stipple?

I have no doubt in my abilities to do this work but I want to be sure that the material will not be too thin once I bring it down to the level of the bottom of the factory checkering. Any help would be appreciated.

[Irelander]

Anyone....Bueller.

[okie john]

I've done it. Should be no problem. Just work slowly.


Okie John

[Irelander]

Great, thank you! Can you tell me what tools you used to shave off the plastic? So far I used a table top vertical belt sander to take off the bumps. I was thinking about using a mil file for the rest since I want to be careful not to take to much. I do have a lot of experience with a dremel so I might start off with that then switch to the file once I get close to where I want to be.

[SGT_Calle]

I've done it. Should be no problem. Just work slowly.


Okie John

Same here. I used hand tools, files and whatnot, and worked slowly. Not a lot of rounds through the pistol since (probably just shy of 500) but I'm happy with the result.

[Cookie Monster]

I've only done little things on my Glocks, I usually use sandpaper and a razor knife. Power tools take a lot off quick. I'd be scared of a belt sander but I lack good moderation control.

Cookie Monster

[HopetonBrown]

Can you homebrew guys post a pic of your work?

[Irelander]

I ground off the rest of the finger grooves and factory checkering with a dremel using a sanding drum. Hint: wear a dust mask when doing this as I am still sneezing little black specks. Got almost to where I want it and stopped. I will use sandpaper to finish it up before I start stippling. Just not sure what style of stippling I want to do. I usually use a wood burner and chizel tip to make a bark texture like the Bowie Tactical guns. I'm thinking about doing a dot pattern this time but not sure.

[NRA]

The value of stipple Glocks is in the eye of the beholder. Pretty hard to resell these home done wonders. Also, Glock will not warranty these guns.

[Irelander]

The first Glock I stippled was a Gen3 26. I sold it for a good price to a gentleman who was very happy with it.

I don't plan on getting rid of my G19 so it doesn't really matter to me if my stipple job detracts from the value. I don't think that most people understand that the factory texture on a Gen 3 (or previous) Glock will be useless if your gun get covered in oil, mud, or more importantly blood. Adding stippling provides a much better purchase on the gun in all environments. Vickers, Defoor, and many others have been quoted saying that stippling a Glock is a must.

BTW...Bowie, Coldbore, and the others all started as home brewers. I was at Bowie's shop 3 or 4 years ago and he doesn't have some super fancy shop and he turns out great weapons that cost much more than factory ones. Glock won't warranty the big name jobs either.

[WARDOG68]

http://i61.tinypic.com/dg56vp.jpg

PLEASE don't use power tools on a glock, too easy to ruin everything. For the frontstrap bumps, use a shaped wooden block inserted in glock frame to held it in a vice, then use a coarse sandpaper (I start with 80grit working down to 400) strip in a shoeshine motion, ADVICE: keep hands spreaded apart, you don't want to cut into the thin plastic between frontstrap and sides (it's REALLY thin, mind you) using the shoeshine motion is the best may to keep frontstrap even. Reverse grip in vice and do the same to the backstrap, when almost done keeping the strip of sandpaper spreaded between hands, don't do a shoeshine motion, but a upward downward one, to smooth everything out. Remove the texturing in grip sides with a sandblock, if you are careful you can leave the glock logo intact, bear in mind that if you leave even a hint of original texturing or checkering it will show after stippling. When everything is smoothed out you can work your way into stippling, I use a jig made from plastic to lay down the grip panels with a pencil, then proceed to stipple. I use a ultra thin wooden burner and an optivisor.

[Irelander]

Nicely done. I got my G19 done and hope to post pics tomorrow.

[TTS]

Here is some inspiration:

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg133/burris_craig_r/DSC03533_zpsd5a26842.jpg

[Irelander]

Here is my latest work. I have done several stipple jobs using this sample style and all have turned out great. This was my first grind and stipple job. This is my GLOCK 19. The finger grooves never really fit my hand very well so I decided to man up and take them off. I definitely learned a lot of things on this job.

1. Make sure to completely grind off any features that you do not want. Factory checkering, even the thinly raised side panels. I was scared to go too deep on the front strap so I left some barely visible lines from the factory checkering. I figured that the stippling would cover a multitude of sins. I was wrong. You can still see them. I also thought I did not need to grind off the side panels but they showed through as well.

2. The places where I ground plastic off were much easier to stipple and stippled more evenly. Next time I will grind everything so it is all smooth before I stipple.

I have a lot of experience with a dremel so I was not afraid to use one. But I definitely recommend using sandpaper and elbow grease if you do not have experience with a dremel and steady hands. It was very nerve wracking since this was my first grind job. I think next time will be much better on the nerves and the result.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/47624012/G19%20Stipple.JPG
Not the greatest picture. Hope to take some better ones soon.

I still need to lightly sand the stippling on the sides of the grip. Right now it is cheese grater-ish. But all in all I love the way it feels. Much improved over the stock grip IMO.