1911 frontstrap serendipity

A

Al Thompson

Staff Alumnus
I'm a big fan of checkered frontstraps, but the $$ held me back from such a purchase. Saw several 1911s with skateboard tape and decided to try it. The tape is hard to find here, so figured I was out of luck.

Went to Home Depot for some deck stain and found 3M anti-skid tape in one inch width for .79 cents a foot.

Degreased my Kimber frontstrap with denatured alcohol and applied a 2.5 x 1 inch piece.

Works great and the price is right. The black tape looks like highgrade stippling.

For a reference, the grit seems sharper and coarser than the S&A magwell checkering. (then again it's my fingers on the frontstrap)

Giz
 
What did you use to keep it on there, just the sticky stuff from the tape itself, or did you help it some? How does it hold up to gun cleaners?

Tom


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A "Miss" is the ultimate overpenetration!
You can never be too rich, too skinny, or too well armed!
 
I'm "sold" on skateboard tape. Have been
using it on three semi-autos for close
to two years. Also have it on the pistol
grip of my duck gun and one of my rifles.

I recently invested in a full-bore custom
job on a Colt Gov model. Given a limited
budget, I decided to forego the frontstrap
checkering. It's the only part of the gun
that hasn't been "addressed" by the gun-
smith. I am not sorry because the skate-
board tape simply makes a lot of sense.
It works and it's inexpensive.

Try it. You'll like it. Absolutely,
positively guarantee.
 
Tom, the sticky backing of the tape is all that's holding it on there. It is very sticky (remember it was meant for steps) and is seemingly very strong.

I was a bit surprised at the amount of oil that my Q-tip dipped in alcohol seemed to attract. I would not skip this step.

My cleaning technique consists of lots of Q-tips and solvent (for the frame). I don't have any runoff, so it is a non-tested area. The tape has stood up to sweaty hands, lots of dry fire drills and shooting.

The ultimate application of this stuff is on my lightweight 1911. The aluminum is not well suited for checkering and this stuff is just the berries for that gun.

Giz
 
One trick us old guys knew about was to loosen up the grip screws and position a piece of emery paper(like very fine grit sandpaper) over the front strap and then retightening. Works fine,and easily reversed w/o trauma.
 
The old emery paper trick under the stocks worked well, I used to use it before I had the grip of my 1911 stippled. And it was easy to get the right feel you wanted, just change the paper until you find the courseness you want.

------------------
Ne Conjuge Nobiscum
"If there be treachery, let there be jehad!"
 
I've done the same thing with my two ugly POS Tupperware pretend-guns. Being too cheap to buy the 'kits', I laid out the right shape with paper, then cut the skateboard tape to fit over the pretend checkering/stippling/coarse bits on the sides of the Glock's frame.

Makes it feel much better.

Like tacky crap instead of just crap :)

As for durablity, my G22 has been done that way for a couple of years and the tape hasn't fallen off yet. I did discover that the tape is abrasive to the skin in the middle of my back after I fit my G27 with a carry clip and then tried to smooth my kidneys while carrying IWB under my tee-shirt. An experiment that shall not be repeated...ouch...concealed well, though.

I much prefer steel and wood in my guns...too bad the plastic one have to work so well...sigh...gets hard to conceal a P14 here in Texas, the layers are the only thing I miss about Minnesota.


Alex
 
In the realm of 'degreasing' I like to use Acetone. This stuff evaporates really quickly, and if it leaves any residue, it's near microscopic - as I can't see anything. The fumes might get to you, but for wicking oil and other lubes out from the nooks and crannies of a firearm, Acetone is really hard to beat. Give it a whirl.

Unkel Gilbey
 
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