Kydex Remolding Possible?

[SweetPotato]

My holster leather/kydex loses its retention and I got TLR6 for it. I was going to try to heat it and reshape it for the lost retention. I was wondering if it is possible to put the TLR on and reshape it to accept the TLR as well. Any suggestion is appreciated.

[BrokerB]

YouTube is your guide. It probably can be done but you may ruin it before you get the skill up to snuff

[broadside]

Adjusting retention of an existing shape is easy with a hair dryer.

Reshaping the thing to account for a new add-on is more difficult. Plus the amount of material may not be enough or get real thin where you stretch it out.

[SweetPotato]

I have no experience and want to get advice. Didn't think about the material requirement. Feel like a waste of good hide being unable to reshape it but it is what it is. Thanks.

[Matt P]

[bergmen]

Kydex has a heat deflection temperature of about 177 degrees F, so boiling water will soften in order to reshape. Some care may be needed, once softened, some stress relieving can occur and it may want to assume it's own shape. Once formed to your liking, douse in cold tap water to solidify.

Being a thermo-plastic, no harm is done to the plastic properties by softening and re-forming (within reason).

Dan

[SweetPotato]

Thanks Bergmen. I don't know if there is enough plastic to make room for the TLR6 though. And another point that Matt makes is a concern as well. I don't know how to properly shape it to allow the light to be drawn from the holster. Might have to look for kydex of G43 with the TLR6 to see where and how it should be molded. Thank for the info on the plastic though, very useful.

[boopiejones]

The TLR6 is a relatively thin and flat light. So you should have enough material on the existing holster to make it work. And since the sides of the tlr6 are fairly flat, you might not need much of an “escape route” to allow a clean draw from the holster. I would just heat the area of the holster that will be occupied by the light, slide the gun in with the light mounted and hold it down with pressure from a potholder while it cools. Then, if needed, you can add a little heat to the part of holster covering the back of the light and front of trigger guard to creat a little divot to add whatever tension you are comfortable with.

You mentioned the holster has a leather backing, so I assume it’s IWB. You may want to try it on and do some practice draws before adjusting tension as the tension may feel different inside your waistband.

[SweetPotato]

thank you boopiejones. Do I have to heat it with boiling water as bergmen said or heat gun will do the job without damaging the kydex? It is IWB and it loses a fair amount of tension though not sliding out while being worn.

[boopiejones]

Should be fine just heating the section you need to stretch with a heat gun. If you heat it too quickly, it may turn the kydex glossy, so keep the gun moving around slightly and not too close to the kydex. I would probably direct the heat so it is blowing diagonally down and forward in relation to the way you would aim the gun. That way you don’t accidentally reshape the parts you want to keep - like the slide and trigger guard.

You can possibly even try heating that section while a helper slowly pushes the gun into the holster. That way it will just slide in when it’s hot enough and you don’t have to worry about overheating.

[SweetPotato]

Thanks!

[Matt P]

Using a heat gun is not as easy as it may read. You have to heat both sides and evenly.
I used tongue depressors I cut and shaped as needed to create a slot on behind the light over the trigger guard area. I taped those on the body of the handgun.
Modeling clay may work also. Any depressions that exist behind the light will trap it. It’s very easy to do this.

[SweetPotato]

Thank you. I don't think that heating both side is possible. The Kydex isn't removable. What is the reason on heating on both sides?

[caliberetta]

You already have some good advise above, particularly about not having enough material to accommodate an add-on.

If I were in your situation, I would think: There probably is enough material to make "something" out of it. What the "something" will be is likely to be an abomination after I'm done with it.

[JTROKS]

When you heat Kydex it tends to straighten it self out unless there are molds or clamps shaping it.

What model holster are you trying to reshape? Is it a model originally molded for a non-TLR equipped gun? Are there tension screws, if so where are the tension screws located?