Question on G10 grip material

[toivo]

I just bought two sets of G10 bird's head grips for my Heritage Barkeep revolvers. One set looks great -- the other doesn't. See attached comparison pic of right-side panels for reference -- as if it isn't obvious, the bad one is on the left.



I contacted Heritage to ask about replacing the bad set -- haven't heard back yet, but I has only been one day. Anyway ... a question to anyone with experience working with the G10 material: What does this look like to you? Did they skip some finishing step, like polishing? Is it supposed to have something applied, like an oil or a wax? I'm just wondering how one set could look so good while the other one looks so crappy.

 

[PistoleroWadcutterGANG]

My guess. It has to do with the g10 material itself. Maybe a bad batch with different qualities that came out in the fabrication of the grip. OR maybe the production floor increased machining speed due to make production time to keep in line with production cost to sales quote? meaning it sacrificed finish to meet the cost projections.

 

[shoobe01]

Heard of that before, they do not hold to cosmetic finishes like color very closely. Ordering black and getting gray is common. I'd think a grip maker would at least sell as a pair to keep the colors consistent but apparently not.

They take dye okay so if you want black, could consider just dyeing (RIT, boiling water, let it soak a few hours) the grayer one and see if that makes it match, or the other needs some dye to make IT darker

No, they shouldn't get a varnish layer etc. Would be surprised if anyone said they did that, as it defeats the purpose of a very very strong and inherently grippy material as the substrate.

 

[toivo]

I'd think a grip maker would at least sell as a pair to keep the colors consistent but apparently not.

Just to clarify, I ordered two pairs. What you're seeing is the right panels only, one from each pair. The right and left sides match on both pairs, but one pair looks great and the other doesn't.

It's not the color I mind as much as the finish. It's really dull, almost looks dusty. I have a lot of G10 grips on semi-auto pistols, and none of them look like that. They don't necessarily shine, but they don't look dull like that.

 

[shoobe01]

Yeah, then they went with matched and the lots of this material vary. Seen the gray matte look before. Doesn't seem to be broken, just is like that. I sorta like the matte and gray look

Agree if inconsistent and not what you expected, read the disclaimers (they may say "it is what it is") and see if they'll send you a hand-select very black pair.

 

[toivo]

Yeah, then they went with matched and the lots of this material vary. Seen the gray matte look before. Doesn't seem to be broken, just is like that. I sorta like the matte and gray look

Agree if inconsistent and not what you expected, read the disclaimers (they may say "it is what it is") and see if they'll send you a hand-select very black pair.

For what it's worth, this is the picture from their web store:



It's sort of in-between the two that I received. I wouldn't have minded if the second pair looked like that, but you're probably right: "It is what it is."