How About 'Grip-Smithing' ?

[mohavesam]

anyone have any experience repairing plastic grips?

I have a couple panels that have a chunk broken off the toe, but aren't quite ready for the trash bin.

I'm looking for epoxies or a white/ivory colored material akin to JB Weld...

:?:

 

[45Colt_Man]

You may be able the proper color for the Corian material, simple to use and sands easily.

Dana

 

[rugerguy]

why can't you mix two part epoxy and tint it to the color you want???
I used to do it for the orange front sight inserts..............

 

[Short Barrel]

Taxidermy supply companies sell epoxy putties in black,brown,white and a few other colors.Look for the brands,"Apoxie Sculpt" and "Magic Sculpt.These are a dough like consistency.You knead the two parts together till the color is consistent.You can mold or sculpt with it and they give you an hour or more working time.It is best to let it cure overnight before sanding or filing.Hundreds of uses for that stuff.

www.mckenzietaxidermy.com is a good supplier to deal with.

 

[Pinecone]

mohavesam, Good info above! What I do is place a sheet of paper on a piece of scrap wood and coat the paper with mold release and lay the grip on it to fill with properly colored epoxy. Epoxy tends to be sucked in to the void so make sure you "overfill" the cavity. Now let dry 3 or 4 days to make sure it is in a completely "hardened" state. Now use fine files and 400 grit paper to smooth out and form the epoxy to the contour of the grip. Often times, you can get a close match by polishing lightly with a Dremel and small polishing wheel with fine polishing compound. Gun oil or Armour-All as a final coating works often also. Good idea to "practice" with pieces of scrap plastic to get your technique refined!.........................Dick :wink:

 

[Cracker-American]

You can color regular epoxy a white/ivory by mixing with regular blackboard chalk dust. Get your dust with a file and then mix with the two parts as usual.

 

[tommyt]

You can color regular epoxy a white/ivory by mixing with regular blackboard chalk dust. Get your dust with a file and then mix with the two parts as usual.

I'll give that one a try

Tommyt

 

[deac45]

I've used Testor's model car paint to color epoxy for sight inserts.

deac45

 

[mohavesam]

Pinecone,
Have you been able to color-mix the epoxies easily or do they fade as they cure?

I may even consider re-painting the entire panels and then coloring the 'stag' textures. Like that?

 

[caryc]

mohavesam,

You're statement above has me wondering a little. It sounds like you are trying to repair a pair of fake plastic stag grips.

I don't understand your considering re-painting the entire panels. The base color of all the fake stag panels I've seen is the color of the plastic itself. There is no paint on the grips. The ruts or bark is paint or some other substance used to darken them.

I've never heard of anybody painting a set of grips but I guess there's no law against it.

 

[flatgate]

The "chrome" grips were sent to me by a dear friend as a "joke"...
Further research revealed the "Pointer Pup" FACTORY sold them that way! :shock:

flatgate

 

[caryc]

The "chrome" grips were sent to me by a dear friend as a "joke"...
Further research revealed the "Pointer Pup" FACTORY sold them that way! :shock:

flatgate

Yeah....and I'll bet they made a real fortune on those bad boys.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

They probably sold a lot of them, Cary. Back in the '50's and '60's, before a certain sophistication crept into the single-action market, the 'Pups and similar plastic knock-offs were quite popular. Also, the considerable number of custom grip makers that we have today wasn't present. There are probably more makers of custom single-action grip panels on this website alone than existed way back then.

Nostalgia is great, but I like where we are today.

 

[caryc]

They probably sold a lot of them, Cary. Back in the '50's and '60's, before a certain sophistication crept into the single-action market, the 'Pups and similar plastic knock-offs were quite popular. Also, the considerable number of custom grip makers that we have today wasn't present. There are probably more makers of custom single-action grip panels on this website alone than existed way back then.

Nostalgia is great, but I like where we are today.

I'm talking about the chrome ones only. I just don't see them as being big sellers even back then.

 

[mohavesam]

Cary,

They are plastic stag grips, from a better-quality maker. These days about $80 per set. I have accumulated two sets, with the right panel toe broken off each. Worth a rainy day repair if I can find the right color epoxies.

Then again, with a careful application of Krylon plastic-bond, anything is possible. Ever seen genuine glossy black stag? Granite-finish stag? Hmmm...

 

[Short Barrel]

"Have you been able to color-mix the epoxies easily or do they fade as they cure?"

When mixing colors into "clear" epoxies,they will yellow some in time.It wouldn't be a bad idea to mix it a little bit whiter than the existing plastic to compensate for that.Most of the 5 minute epoxies aren't nearly as strong as the slower setting ones so I would opt for the slower setting versions.

Things I've used to color epoxies : fine sawdust,dry powdered tempera paints,epoxy pigments,lamp black,water based paints like acrylic artist's paints or latex paint.Solvent based paint can mess with the curing of the epoxy,depending on how much is added.Most epoxies tolerate a little bit of water though.Just try to add the minimum coloring to get the job done.Adding too much may keep the epoxy from being as strong as it could be.

You could easily recolor the dark textured areas and a thin layer of 5 minute epoxy would work for that-no strength issue.Just add some black,brown pigment.It wouldn't hurt to scuff up the areas to be colored.