Can you help with a V-day gift

[hermosabeach]

Ok

If wood working is out

How about

Pink factory Hogue grips?

[mikeyr]

The problem is going to be in removing the black stain that is already in the wood, I just don't see that happening without sanding which will remove the checkering. You can try paint remover and a toothbrush, but that does not look like paint to me, it looks like a stain.

[hermosabeach]

What about wicked grips?

https://wickedgrips.com/product/beretta-92fs-custom-grips-pink-cheetah/

[hermosabeach]

[numpty]

There are some ideas here that I've never heard of since I'm no woodworker. Wood bleach and whatnot. But if you had pink hello kitty inserts like you want, that might be adequate personalization without coloring the whole grip. Then you could focus on the clear coat you want with the original color.

Seems like a neat idea whatever you decide to do. My wife would appreciate that effort. Dinner and flowers sounds so lame now.

Good job OP!

[Greenpharmer]

Well you could try to dye them with Rit but it's anybody's guess how the would turn out. And a lighter original color would probably take the dye better. But you could dip them in for just a few seconds until you achieved the desired color you were looking for. But again, no idea how this might turn out.

Alternatively you could maybe airbrush them pink-ish with paint, only do it very lightly so as to just give it a hue or similar...if you have an airbrush.

I was originally thinking about RIT dye, but was unsure if it might work. I hadn't thought about using an airbrush.

You'll have to remove any paint or sealer in order for the tint/stain to soak in. Paint remover with a toothbrush to get into the checkering. Then you might try some wood bleach to get rid of the darkness. Then stain or dye.
Or, spray paint pink. You could even go 2 tone and leave a black border around the outside/checkered part. Or reverse.

The problem is going to be in removing the black stain that is already in the wood, I just don't see that happening without sanding which will remove the checkering. You can try paint remover and a toothbrush, but that does not look like paint to me, it looks like a stain.

I'm gonna try a little paint thinner on the inside of the grip. I'm unsure how it may react to the resin used to bind the laminate. I might use the airbrush or spray paint route if dying wont work. if all else fails the original color will be ok.

There are some ideas here that I've never heard of since I'm no woodworker. Wood bleach and whatnot. But if you had pink hello kitty inserts like you want, that might be adequate personalization without coloring the whole grip. Then you could focus on the clear coat you want with the original color.

Seems like a neat idea whatever you decide to do. My wife would appreciate that effort. Dinner and flowers sounds so lame now.

Good job OP!

I still have to get some hello kitty's to insert, but i really need a good small batch of clear epoxy first. Most of the good stuff comes in large quantities. I am gonna have to scour the Internet more. Theres still gonna be a dinner that I'm cooking too.

[L84CABO]

Life is too short to own ugly guns!

Said no Glock owner EVER!

[Bad Andy]

For clear epoxy, you can use the west system resin, with their slow clear hardener. It will look like glass. It is what boat builders use to go over mahogany boats to show the beautiful wood underneath (like the old Chris Craft boats on Lake Tahoe).

Unfortunately, the smallest amount you can buy is 32 ounces, which is way more than you need and will run about $45.00.

[Greenpharmer]

Yeah. That's the problem I'm having with finding a good resin. The really good glass like ones come in quantities way in excess of what I need, and for way to much money. I need to look through 3m, locate, etc, sites to see if there's anything available there. I might also do a Craig's list add, I live in SD, lots of boats and breweries.

[Tri750]

Don't be so cheap !
Buy the resin for heavens sake.

[Greenpharmer]

I ended up getting clear jewelry resin. Then my wife started asking questions. So I told her and she was happy. I asked her what hello kitty she wanted, she found some glass dome earrings that ended up fitting perfectly. Since they were glass domes already I just used some clear epoxy to set them in. The grips are a little thinner and have a more aggressive checker pattern, so it fits more comfortably in her hands and gives her a more secure grip. She was fine with the color so I didn't paint them. Here's the end result.