The end result was much more aggressive than the factory surface of the grips but not so rough it will chew through my clothes. Not only did the screwhead cover more real estate with each press of the iron, I wasn't worried about the head accidentally going through the thin grip panels because it wasn't pointy. Using a Dremel tool with a cut-off wheel, I then checkered the round top of the screw, and used that to stipple the grips of my SIG. The tips on my soldering iron are threaded 10-24, so the 10-24x1/2-inch brass machine screws I bought threaded right in. I've seen people use the slot-head screwdriver attachments on soldering irons to create "tiger stripe"-like lines on their grips, but on my SIG grips I borrowed a technique I read about on the web. To create his custom job, Tarr first checkered the top of a brass screw and then used that to stipple the grips on his SIG. Your best bet is to follow the natural lines of the grip and keep your spacing regular. Depending on how far you push the iron into the plastic you can customize the roughness of the stippling. Be careful not to push too hard (you don't want to go through the frame), and don't rush it.
You'll feel resistance in the plastic as you push in the hot soldering iron and maybe hear a slight sizzle. The most common method of stippling is to use the standard "pencil" tip and, once the iron is properly heated, push it into the plastic and repeat as necessary. The first grips I stippled were the plastic grips on a SIG P226SAO On Glocks I've seen everything stippled: grip, trigger guard, front of the frame. On Springfield XD(m) pistols I've seen people stipple the raised texture blocks on the frame or in between the raised blocks. On Smith & Wesson M&Ps many people stipple only the textured area of the grip, in addition to the grip inserts. I used spare AR-15 pistol grips sitting dusty in my parts bin and tried different techniques. Before you accidentally butcher the serialized frame of your pistol, practice on something you won't mind destroying first. No one is good at something the first time they try it. I also bought some 10-24x1/2-inch brass machine screws. The Weller soldering iron I purchased came with three tips: large and small flathead screwdriver types, and the traditional pointer tip, which looks like a dull pencil end. A simple 25-watt iron-available at any hardware or home improvement store for $30 or less-will do everything you need. An inexpensive soldering iron is all you need to do your own stippling.Ībout the only thing you'll need for do-it-yourself stippling is a soldering iron. Up until then I didn't own a soldering iron, but right now the gun on my hip sports a grip hand-stippled by yours truly, and trust me folks-if I can stipple a grip, anyone can. It was so much easier to keep a firm grip on my gun at high-pressure USPSA matches that I couldn't believe the difference, and the mild stippling didn't tear up my shirts (I carry my competition gun). After getting a new custom Glock from Taran Tactical this year with a lightly stippled grip-shown on the photo above-I realized what I was missing.
Over the years I have seen Glocks and M&Ps stippled by hand by local shooters, and the results didn't just look good but felt good. Second, it is not usually expensive to stipple a polymer gun, and it's so easy most people these days are doing it themselves. First, the nonslip gripping surface stippling provides can be as aggressive as the custom hand checkering you used to see on custom 1911s. Stippling the gripping surface of polymer-framed guns is usually done with a soldering iron, and it is getting more and more accepted and common-not just on competition guns but by the serious "tactical" crowd.