Pistol Frame Stippling

Discussion in 'DIY (Do It Yourself)' started by the925life, Apr 3, 2020.

  1. the925life

    the925life Member

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    I used some of the COVID quarantine downtime to try my first pistol frame mods on a Gen4 G23 and Gen3 G26. Full stipples and trigger guard undercuts, plus finger groove removal on the 23 and mag baseplate for the 26. Turned out much better than I hoped.

    I started by grinding off the finger grooves with a bastard file, but that was slow so I graduated up to a dremel. Trigger guard undercut was done with a pencil wrapped in sandpaper and a dremel to finish. Next step was knocking down the factory texture to make a blank slate for the stipple. Pattern is a north-south zigzag using a wedge tip.

    One thing I learned as a right handed shooter with the mag release button on the left side, if you go too drastic on the trigger undercut your shoot hand middle finger will wrap around and rub against the corner of the mag release button, so I kept the cuts minimal enough just to get rid of any Glock knuckle problems. I also like that it retains the original lines of the frame and grip angle.


    IMG_20191103_103138 (1).jpg IMG_20191103_103207 (1).jpg

    G23 (1).jpg G23 (2).jpg G23 (3).jpg
    G26 (1).jpg G26 (2).jpg G26 (3).jpg G26 (4).jpg
     
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  2. FAL'ER

    FAL'ER Member

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    That looks real good. I got as far as grinding of the finger bump on my 27, never did stipple it.
     
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  3. Frigin

    Frigin Member

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    @the925life
    That came out sweet man good job. I have he’d fun doing all the remotes in my house but haven’t done one of my guns yet. question on the undercut trigger guard. How did you get it back to looking like “stock finish” Or does in nit get that way again? Do you just finish with a fine sandpaper and it gets that way?
     
  4. the925life

    the925life Member

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    I wasn't able to get it back to the soft pebbled factory texture. I used the Dremel felt wheel attachment and some polishing compound and just blended it out about halfway to the front of the guard. From a distance you don't really notice, but up close it is much smoother than factory.
     
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  5. Bcamos

    Bcamos Member

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    Holy **** dude. That's super clean!

    I've stippled a Magpul mag and halfway through I completely regretted it haha.

    The most I've done as far as pistol frame modification is double undercut on my Shield's trigger guard. I also used a dremel with a felt wheel and polishing compound to finish it off.
     
  6. rcems2000

    rcems2000 Member

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    Looks great. Looks like it was done in factory
     
  7. the925life

    the925life Member

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    Thanks, appreciate the positive feedback. Been thinking about doing this for side work locally. We'll see.
     
  8. FAL'ER

    FAL'ER Member

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    How much are you charging?
     
  9. the925life

    the925life Member

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    Not sure yet. Would depend on frame size and what all needed to be done. Finger groove removal, trigger guard cuts, etc.

    I can only do the one texture right now. I tried a bunch of other tips and patterns but they didn't turn out to my liking. What you see in those pictures is a perfect carry texture IMO. Just a bit softer than the factory texture on an M&P 2.0
     
  10. the925life

    the925life Member

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    Got any pics of the Shield? I'd be curious to see the guard cuts you did.
     
  11. Gunn

    Gunn Member

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    That's real nice work! I too have the same pistol and want to do the same mods to it. I have an old Gen 2 and can't stand the finger grooves on newer models. I've gotten as far as the trigger undercut for my fat fingers. I have a 25-watt soldering iron with a wedge tip, but I don't care to screw up what is essentially a new G23. Any advice?
     
  12. the925life

    the925life Member

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    Overarching advice
    1. Practice on Uplula's, Glock mag loaders, old mag baseplates, unused backstraps, etc. Don't start in on your frame until you're comfortable with appearance and texture of your stippling ability.
    2. Go slow and with patience. This applies at any point between the first grind and when you unplug the soldering iron.


    Tools, in order of use: flat file > pencil > dremel > soldering iron/wood burner.


    First thing, remove mag release. You don't want to bugger it.

    Put frame in a vise and start grinding down the front strap finger peaks with a flat file. Use the low points of the finger grooves as your depth gauge. Every so often step aside and check that your cuts are level across the face of the front strap. If this is too slow the dremel will make quick work, but if you have the time I'd stick with hand filing.

    The front strap isn't an arch from one side of the grip to the other. Rather, it's a flat surface with fillet edges. You want to keep this shape.

    Once the peaks are flush with the factory texture in the grooves, stop hand filing. Grab your pencil.

    Sketch out the perimeter of where you want the stippling. I looked at lots of other work to figure out where and how I wanted the stippling. Pencil lines are easy to see against the frame, and easy to erase if you want to change the design. Get the lines straight and curves uniform. Take your time doing this as it will mean the difference between clean lines and sloppy appearance.

    Once you're happy with the design, grab your dremel.

    Start slow with a heavy grit sanding drum and remove the factory texture. Don't grind any areas without factory stippling and don't grind more than you need to level the field. Stay away from the bottom edge of the magwell, the back strap panel grooves and pin holes. I decided to remove the Glock logo on my 23 but kept it on my 26. Make this decision before you start grinding.

    When factory texture is gone, change to a finer grit drum and start on the trigger guard undercut, if necessary/desired. Periodically check for fit/feel. Keep stepping up in grit until you have a nice polish. Make sure its blended. Do this before stippling. If you do it later (I made this mistake) you can grind out or polish off some of the stippling texture and clean lines you worked hard for. Restippling an area you already stippled is unwise and won't match the rest of the frame.

    If you need to reapply pencil, do so.

    Now you can stipple. I started on the top left side of the frame between slide stop and mag release. Doesn't matter where you start, but I would go top > bottom and left > right. Do one complete line top > bottom before moving on. It's desirable to have the stippling columns touch or overlap slightly. Better than than small gaps of smoothness.

    Get very close, but don't touch the pencil lines. This is important. Finish the frame first, take a breather, then come back and finish the lines. This is the part that is critical and will make or break the appearance. Honestly, stippling uniformity is less important than clean lines. Without sharp, straight edges the most uniform texture will look sloppy.
     
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  13. Gunn

    Gunn Member

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    Excellent! Very helpful, I appreciate your detailed response. I like to have a plan, then execute it. This is a great plan. :cool:Thanks!
     
  14. the925life

    the925life Member

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    I hope it goes well for you. Take some pics along the way

    One other thing, you might want to use the pencil to draw some top > bottom guidelines every 1/4” or so. This will help you keep the stipple lines straight.
     

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