Anything I can do to change the grip texture of a glock?

[AK103K]

A bad stippling job will never go away. If you think you may ever sell it, resale value will take a hit. If you want to keep it forever, go for it. Or better yet, have a professional do it right.

I like Traction Grips, easy to install, easy to remove, provides a good grip.

Unless you REALLY screw up, they are pretty easily fixed or modified if you dont like how it comes out. The type of job you get, all depends on you. It can also be as easy to do as you want, or you can make it as hard to do as you want. Thats entirely up to you.

Ive sold four or five now that Ive done on consignment later, and I havent lost a dime yet. I got as much or more than a similar gun that wasnt stippled and they sold quickly too. I havent had one I sold sit on the shelf more than a week.

I was told constantly too, that it would void the warranty on my Glocks, and yet, the one time I had to send one in when the rail broke, it was one I had stippled (and redone multiple times) and they never brought it up or said a word. They replaced the frame and rebuilt the gun without charge. I promptly stippled the new frame the day I got it back.

If you havent shot a gun that was stippled, give it a try if you can. Just watch you dont get hooked.

 

[JDR]

I can think of several LGS’s that won’t take badly stippled Glocks on consignment or on a trade, and they won’t buy them outright. And a bad stipple job is highly subjective.

 

[ATLDave]

It's a Glock, not an investment. I can understand wanting to avoid permanently modifying some multi-kilo-buck gun that may be going up in value, but we're talking about a fairly cheap gun that is a depreciating asset. The whole brilliance of Glocks is that they are good service-grade guns at a price point where you don't have to worry about their condition.

 

[AK103K]

I can think of several LGS’s that won’t take badly stippled Glocks on consignment or on a trade, and they won’t buy them outright. And a bad stipple job is highly subjective.

Whats "badly"? I guess thats the highly subjective part. As I said, I didnt have any trouble selling mine.

Personally, if the gun was stippled, and it wasnt all that well done a job, Id probably still jump on it, if the price were right (nows the time to haggle ). As I said earlier, as long as nothing is majorly screwed up, its pretty easy to fix/correct things, and still get a good job out of it.

There seem to be a lot of people out there that just dont like the idea, and to them, "any" job has screwed the gun, and thats just not the case. And even if you dont like the looks, theres still the same "function over fashion" thing going on. It may not be "pretty" to your eye, but it can/will still help you control/shoot the gun better.

 

[rskent]

I promptly stippled the new frame the day I got it back.

Why don’t you post a few pictures. It would be see your work.

 

[AK103K]

This is the gun I got back from Glock this summer that was last done. This is one of my practice guns and its constantly handled and shot and is due for a touch-up.





This is a closer shot of what the stippling looks like on my one 26 right after it was done about 10 years ago....


And another 17......



Nothing fancy, but very functional. Has a cats tongue feel to it.

And it works on things other than handguns too.
these make for a good "try it" platform if youre scared to do your gun first.

 

[The Exile]

Was it just the texture of the grips that you didn't like or was it the overall shape of the G19 grip that you didn't like? If the G19 feels good in your hand, except for the texture, that is easily fixed. As mentioned, inner tube (but that gets slippery with sweat and oil) or you could sand them a bit. I use "traction grips," which are just another stick on product, but they stick in the hand and aren't aggressive.

If it was the overall feel of the grip, not much you can do. I moved away from Glocks many years ago because they always felt to me like I was holding a 2X4. I have medium size hands and have always felt more comfortable with single stacks. I stuck with 1911s and Kahrs until the M&Ps came out. I just relatively recently went back to glock with the release of the 48. It is just a skinny G19. If the mag capacity is what you're worried about, as mentioned, Shield Arms has a flush fitting 15 round mag for the G48. You just have to get in line to get them.

It's kind of funny...the Browning Hi Power with a 13+1 mag capacity has been around since 1930 something, but not many needed a high cap 9mm until Lethal Weapon came out and Mel Gibson was spraying everything with his Beretta 92.

Anyway, the Traction Grips work and so do the Talons. I just prefer the traction grips. Definitely better than inner tube or skateboard tape. Been there, done that.

It was definitely just the texture, the G48 also felt perfect in my hand but not sure I want my first gun to be a single stack. I had thought about a 1911 but those tend to be a bit pricier for a nice one; as they say buy once cry once, but this is supposed to be an early graduation gift to myself for making it through college so I don't wanna burn through too much money buy a 1000 dollar 1911 when 550 fits into my budget a lot nicer.

 

[The Exile]

If you can get past the permanency of stippling, its really the way to go, assuming you want a great, firm and aggressive grip, that locks the gun in your hand.

You get the texture you need, exactly where you want it, and while it can/does "soften" over time, depending on use, it doesn't peel or come off. Its also very easily touched up should you need to.

All it takes, is getting the nerve up to do your "first". After that, nothing plastic is safe.

In my minds eye whenever I think about trying to work with plastic like I might try with wood all I can see is all the nerf guns that got chewed up when we adopted a new dog when I was a kid. Makes my hairs stand up even considering it.

 

[AK103K]

In my minds eye whenever I think about trying to work with plastic like I might try with wood all I can see is all the nerf guns that got chewed up when we adopted a new dog when I was a kid. Makes my hairs stand up even considering it.

Hey, whatever youre comfortable with and works.

I got tired of constantly dealing with the tapes not fitting right, wearing out and peeling off to fast, and just not getting what I wanted from them anyway.

Stippling (with the guns I can) solved that. Wish I could easily do it with a couple of metal guns I have.

One of my biggest fears, Glock wise, is one of our Rotties getting pissed at me and getting a hold of one. That would be all she wrote. Unless I could just get them to nibble a little in the right places. Would save me a lot of time.

 

[JTQ]

... not sure I want my first gun to be a single stack. I had thought about a 1911 but those tend to be a bit pricier for a nice one; as they say buy once cry once, but this is supposed to be an early graduation gift to myself for making it through college so I don't wanna burn through too much money buy a 1000 dollar 1911 when 550 fits into my budget a lot nicer.

I'm a 1911 guy and wouldn't recommend it to you either. However, it sounds as if your experience level is very low. The current Gen 4 and Gen 5 Glocks are fairly mainstream texture-wise. There are other firearm grips that are smoother and some that are more aggressive.

There are an awful lot of guns in the $500 ish (+ or - $100 to $150) range with varying levels of grip texture. Spend some more time handling a variety of guns and find what you like. After handling a bunch of other guns you may also discover the stock texture of the Gen 4 and Gen 5 Glocks are just fine.

 

[herrwalther]

Use TractionGrips. Have worked better for me than Talon grips. And are much better priced. I use a heat gun on low setting to warm up the adhesive just a bit to get the grip really molded into the firearm. Haven't had any peeling issues in years doing this.

http://tractiongrips.com/id47.html

 

[rskent]

Nothing fancy, but very functional. Has a cats tongue feel to it.

That is some nice stippling their sir. Very clean looking.

 

[Spats McGee]

It was definitely just the texture, the G48 also felt perfect in my hand but not sure I want my first gun to be a single stack. I had thought about a 1911 but those tend to be a bit pricier for a nice one; as they say buy once cry once, but this is supposed to be an early graduation gift to myself for making it through college so I don't wanna burn through too much money buy a 1000 dollar 1911 when 550 fits into my budget a lot nicer.

So you have not bought the gun? Is that right? I was thinking that you had. If not, even better.

I know that you mentioned a G19 very early on and that you didn't like the grips. Gen 3 and Gen 4 are textured differently. Here's a review with a good pic of them side by side: http://gunivore.com/pistol/glock-19-gen-3-vs-gen-4-review/ Gen 3 is also still really popular, and aftermarket support is still strong, as far as I can tell. (I have a Gen 4, so I don't shop for Gen 3 items, but I haven't seen a lot of people complaining about not having Gen 3 widgets.)

Along those same lines, consider looking at the M&P 1.0 models. When S&W moved to 2.0, it moved to a more aggressive texturing. Maybe you'll like the 1.0 better.

 

[JDR]

On another forum someone asked how they could get the aggressive grip texture of a S&W M&P 2.0 on a Gen4 19. The best answer? you guessed it, go get a S&W M&P 2.0!

 

[The Exile]

So you have not bought the gun? Is that right? I was thinking that you had. If not, even better.

I know that you mentioned a G19 very early on and that you didn't like the grips. Gen 3 and Gen 4 are textured differently. Here's a review with a good pic of them side by side: http://gunivore.com/pistol/glock-19-gen-3-vs-gen-4-review/ Gen 3 is also still really popular, and aftermarket support is still strong, as far as I can tell. (I have a Gen 4, so I don't shop for Gen 3 items, but I haven't seen a lot of people complaining about not having Gen 3 widgets.)

Along those same lines, consider looking at the M&P 1.0 models. When S&W moved to 2.0, it moved to a more aggressive texturing. Maybe you'll like the 1.0 better.

The clerk was trying to hit me up with the 1.0, said it was his personal favorite but they only had 1.0 in single stack. It was okay but I wasn't sure how I felt about the the safety as opposed to the glock's safety, no need to worry about things like flipping the safety on when you need to be ready to rumble; but i'm no doc holiday yet so for all I know that's a good thing.

 

[.40isthenew.45]

I used A-Grip on my carry guns for years and never had any issues with it coming off. Good grip, no abrasive and won't wear clothing....https://www.brookstactical.com/index.html

 

[Spats McGee]

The clerk was trying to hit me up with the 1.0, said it was his personal favorite but they only had 1.0 in single stack.....

I'm a little confused. This seems to imply that the M&P has both single stack and double stack models, but the store only had single-stacks. To be clear, when I made reference to the M&P line, I meant something that looks more like this than that. I'm no M&P expert, but I'm going to bet that it doesn't come in your choice of single- and double-stack models.

.... It was okay but I wasn't sure how I felt about the the safety as opposed to the glock's safety, no need to worry about things like flipping the safety on when you need to be ready to rumble; but i'm no doc holiday yet so for all I know that's a good thing.

I believe the safety on an M&P is optional & can be removed. Maybe someone who knows more about this can either confirm or refute? With that said, you'll have to make up your own mind about thumb safeties, but they don't bother me.

 

[JTQ]

I'm a little confused. This seems to imply that the M&P has both single stack and double stack models, but the store only had single-stacks.

It's because even S&W calls the Shields and Shield EZ's M&P's. That drives me nuts.

For clarity, I wish they left off the M&P on those guns and simply called them Shields.

 

[94045]

I'm a little confused. This seems to imply that the M&P has both single stack and double stack models, but the store only had single-stacks. To be clear, when I made reference to the M&P line, I meant something that looks more like this than that. I'm no M&P expert, but I'm going to bet that it doesn't come in your choice of single- and double-stack models.

I believe the safety on an M&P is optional & can be removed. Maybe someone who knows more about this can either confirm or refute? With that said, you'll have to make up your own mind about thumb safeties, but they don't bother me.

I have a M&P M2.0 Compact 4" .40 S&W
The factory mags hold 13 rounds.
The 9mm would.hold 15 rounds.
They are almost identical to the Glock 19/23.in size and are identical in capacity.
The M&P is also offered with the 3.6" barrel which Glock doesn't offer an equivalent to.
They also recently introduced an M&P M2.0 Subcompact in 9mm/.40 that is slightly larger than the Glock 26/27. It holds a couple more rounds in a flush mag so has a little longer grip and has a 3.6" barrel. All of these will accept a full-size magazine although it will be longer than the grip. My Compact came with 2 grip sleeves to take up the space between the base plate on 15-Round .40 S&W Mags (9mm would be 17-Round) and the grip.

The single stack version is an M&P Shield M2.0.

 

[Spats McGee]

^^^Right. I was just confused because The Exile referred to the single stacks as "M&Ps," rather than Shields. Most of us call their larger brethren (like yours) M&Ps. I wish they'd left that designation off of the Shields.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

To the OP. The grip texture on the Glock 43x and the 48 are slightly smoother then the Gen 4 & 5 Glocks. This was done for better conceal carry so, that they would not catch on clothes as much.
I would recommend that you find some friends that have the guns you are thinking about buying and go shooting with them. Or go to a range that rents guns.
I have seen it many times where the gun that feels good in the hand in the store, is not all that grate at the range.
I own a few guns and have plenty of personal experience with many others. A perk of my profession.
I have several Glocks in my collection to include a 19 Gen3, 19Gen3 RTF. I also have four Gen5 Glocks.
When the RTF frames first came out I checked them out and hated the way it felt. They were just way to rough, so I thought.
I picked up a 19 Gen3 RTF and it has become my favorite Glock 19.
I have two M&Ps and really like them, but the M&P M2.0 in FDE is on my short list.
If you lived close by, I would invite you to come shooting. I would supply the guns and ammo.
You really don’t know how good a gun feels in your hands until you shoot it.

 

[choppertime]

Send the frame off to wilson combat they will fix it up for ya!

 

[RUT]

I put Talons or Tractions on everything...wouldn't be without 'em.

 

[94045]

^^^Right. I was just confused because The Exile referred to the single stacks as "M&Ps," rather than Shields. Most of us call their larger brethren (like yours) M&Ps. I wish they'd left that designation off of the Shields.

If your confused imagine the first time the Revolver guys saw a Pistol with the M&P Tag.

 

[Mosin Bubba]

FWIW, the Smith & Wesson SD9VEs are virtually identically sized to a Glock 19 and have a very slick grip. Feels amazing in my hand.

The trigger though? That's another story. But when I hear "Glock 19, but with a slicker grip", that's the first thing I think of.