Sculpey clay ok for grips?

[tenex]

Hello Everyone,
I mentioned to my wife that I needed some putty to do some work on a grip and she gave me some Sculpey clay. It is a polymer clay that hardens in the oven at 275 deg. F. for 15 minutes or so.

Does any one have any experience or opinions on this stuff? I was a little nervous about putting a wooden grip in the oven, but curiosity got the better of me and I tossed the modified grip in the oven. The clay seem's to have adhered very nicely to the grip, and the finish didn't burn off. I figured 275 isn't all that hot (but I don't really know any better either).

I'm also concerned that the wood may get too dry from the oven, but I don't know what to do about it (if I put a pot of water in the oven I might just end up steaming the grip to death).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve.

[dsingh]

the Morini grip compound is great but pretty expensive. After I finished a can of the Morini compound, I was using plastic wood but that sets in hours ( air drying ).

At a local FP match someone suggested a 2 part wood filler available at the Building Box ( havent seen it at Home depot ) . It is exactly like the Morini compound ( lighter in colour though, but that is only a pigment thing ) I had forgotten how easy it is to work with a 2 part epoxy that sets in 10 minutes. I add a little more hardner so that it sets in 5 ! that way I can keep my hand in and allow it to set around it. It was only $13 cad. which is half the price of the Morini with about 4 times as much qty.

The wife didnt appreciate me making mess in the apartment though as I redid all my grips :)

[Chris]

I have used Quickwood. You can find it at mose wood working shops and home depot. it is like a 2 part epoxy. Comes in a tube with one part wraped around the other. cut off what you need and kneed the suff and place it on the grip and mold it or hold your grip. I found that if you wet your hand in the spot where you contact the stuff it will release and stay stuck to the grip. then you can take your finger and get it wet and blend the newly attached blob to your grip so it looks good and will take minimal sanding and filling later. if you need then sand, prime and paint or stain.

I have been using it for years and it has never failed me.

[seaton (gripman)]

I too have used morini and didnt like it, the 2 part spiral stuff in the tube is great but all of them fail to stick at some time or other and pop off. to prevent this simply run a bead of thin CA adhesive around the blob and itll stay forever! :) sculpy is not durable enough and will eventually flake . its surface is alsotoo soft in constant use .

[RobStubbs]

I use the morini grip compound and find it very good. It is a rip off of another brand but since I can't see myself using too much of it I'll bear the extra cost. If you find it does drop off then roughen or scratch the wood surface to help it stick.

I most certainly wouldn't want to bake my grips in the oven, a bit too pricey if they contract and split (and you have to start from scratch again).

Rob.

[Paul.]

I used the (expensive) Morini paste, but found that the little can (perhaps 100ml) had enough goo in it to modify 3 pistol grips, including mistakes.
I have since gone to the building box to buy the identical item, from a use perspective, at half the cost for 5 times the quantity.
At first I used a latex glove to hold the grip until the compound set, but found that it doesn't stick well to skin, so just hold the grip until it sets.

I was worried about the "feel" of the epoxy compared to regular wood, and issues like breathability, etc. There is no noticable difference from the wood, and it does make a big difference to my shooting. The other nice thing is that it carves just like wood, so you can remove some if you put too much on.

[Guest]

Get some Bondo from the auto parts store. We used to use Sculpey™ to make bowls in high school for smoking...ummm....stuff.

[Chris]

I am not sure why people still use bondo. When I was starting out I tried it. You have to glob it on and some times you have to tape on some cardboard to keep the bondo from running all over the place. Then you have to pull out the dremel or files and make a big mess. Then if you take away to much or did not get enough on you have to repeat.

Use Quickwood or similar 2 part epoxy that comes in a clay like form. You can put in and put your hand in the grip. It will not burn your hand as it hardens and you can use water for a release agent. Once added you can be shooting in no time and add some more as needed.

[Raub]

Hi there,
my brother is a dental technician and he gave me some of his rubber-like formig mass for my FWB P34 grip. I used two different kinds (colour is not very nice, pink and light blue) , it is very easy to handle , you hold the grip while it dries within 5minutes and fits well to the wood but is still removable. Because my hand does not sweat too much I don´t care about it, but sweating of the hand could perhaps be a problem.
My brother uses several kilos of it during the week, so ask your local dental technician for 200g, it should be cheap and enough. It´s a paste with a tube of hardener
Raub

[Bob LeDoux]

I recently fitted my free pistol using Bondo with good results. Fit small areas of the grip at a time. I removed the varnish to get a good grip.

Mix extra hardener for fast setup. I slipped on a latex glove and sprayed it with hair spray for extra release. Applied the Bondo, and waited a minute for it. Then took my grip and waited about five minutes. The stuff gets warm, but not hot, unless you put on a very thick layer. Then remove your hand after it gets tacky.

It can be modified with a hobby knife until it hardens. Then it can be sanded.

Try an experiment by using this technique, while making a "grip" around a piece of scrap 1 x 3 inch board. That will teach you enough to decide whether to do it for real.

[scout18]

Hi folks, I did s little search of the archives and decided to try some Quickwood. It worked great. No muss no fuss. Just twist it off and mush it together. apply as needed and there you go.