DIY Kydex Grip Wrap

[3lsmc7]

Since I couldn't find much information specific to making a kydex grip wrap, I took what informaton I could find from DIY holster makers such as phillyEDC and others and decided to try making one myself. I had some issues and you guys were awesome enough with some tricks and tips. That thread can be found here.

A couple members mentioned getting a video or DIY thread going and since I was planning on making at least one more wrap; I figured I would document it as a how to. Hopefully it is consise and complete enough to give you guys a general idea of whats involved and encourage you guys to make one of your own. I could've taken the easier and cheaper way out by buying one but I like making things myself so I can gain experience and knowledge I otherwise would not have gotten (although this route usually means more money spent).

So here we go, first I guess I should start with my tools/materials list.

Tools:

Press
I had a shop press that I used to crush rivets and decided to use that instead of building a specific press for kydex. Grabbed a couple scrap 1/4" steel plate from work and bought some molding foam from knifekits.com

Oven/Toaster Oven
I bought one specific for kydex since I have read/watched that it gives off a certain smell when cooked. Didn't want to use the oven in the kitchen. Plus my press isn't all that portable and kydex cools down pretty quickly.

Heat Gun
Infrared Thermometer
Cutting Tools (box cutter, tin snips, sharp knife, ect)
Measuring Tools (I went to the fabric area at Wal-Mart and they had the cutting board and clear ruler I am using in the pictures.)
Pencil/Marker that will show up on the kydex
Dremel w/ attachments, Kydex Rivets, Chicago Screws, ect

Materials:

Kydex color of your choice

Note: I think this is pretty much all that is needed but I will edit as I add/subtract things...

First I picked the lower I wanted the wrap on, had the butt stock set at the location I wanted (will pin it later on). Got a piece of paper (standard paper size 11.5"x8"). Set the paper under the lower assy and placed the paper high enough to at least reach the buffer tube and low enough under the grip so I have some extra room for fitting.


I folded the paper in half so I have a reference mark; a nice thing about the MagPul grip is that there is a molding line and I just matched the fold to that.


I then marked the paper where I wanted to cut the relief. Marked it on both sides and then cut to fit.




Make sure to cut it low enough that the paper makes it up to the area you want to block.



For the bottom, I creased the paper and made a straight line following the grip form.

[3lsmc7]

I made rough cuts in the paper for how I wanted to contour the kydex but ended up not using them. I just made the relief cut on the kydex itselft and contoured on the fly.

If you want to contour the paper, you can just do one side, fold it over and them copy it over.



Back on topic. I placed the paper over the kydex, added some extra room for mistakes and marked my lines.



To cut the kydex, I placed the ruler over the kydex and scored it with a box cutter a couple times. Then you can just grab the kydex and fold it a couple of times and it'll give you a clean break.



Here is a little improvising I had to do. Since I wanted to use all the kydex (roughly 12" long) but my toaster would only be able to fit roughly 10-11" I had to heat up the kydex enough so that it was pliable and then put it in the toaster to finish heating up.

[3lsmc7]

While the kydex is getting up to temp in the toaster, I heated the foam along with the grip with my heat gun so that it is not cold. The cold materials can cool down the hotter kydex and then it wouldn't give the proper definition. I placed one foam over the toaster while the kydex is cooking and then heated the other with the heat gun. Once it reaches around 320-340 the kydex is ready to be molded.



Here is the tricky part and most important part. Once you pull the kydex, you have to get it on the grip and press as quickly as possible. Wear gloves since the kydex is really hot and you will have to handle it for a bit. I place the front top portion of the grip in the relief and then fold the kydex over. Push the grip towards the kydex as much as possible while keeping the kydex as even as possilbe and pulling the kydex back. It is important because if you do not do this part the front strap portion of the grip will not form properly and you will have to redo it. I did this initially and I had to use the heat gun to reform and push the kydex down on the grip. That did not work out so well and I basically have to reheat and mold the grip again. I used the tips from this YouTube video.




You can also use a "taco" style press where you push the kydex w/ grip into the "closed" portion and then clamp down the open side. I didn't want to make/buy another press so I improvised with the method above. Another thing is when putting the top portion of the foam, is to apply the foam from one side to the other. Then cover it with the top piece and apply pressure. Let sit for 10-15 minutes and then check.

When you are ready to pull the kydex/grip out, be careful as it could still be hot and it will definitely still be sticking to the foam. But once you do, you should have something like this.



Once it cools down I bit, I will do a rough drawing of how I want the kydex to look like. Usually I will mark one side and try to follow the same lines on the other side.

[3lsmc7]

I use a dremel with a cutting attachment with relatively high RPM. My dremel has variable speed so I usually set it on the 12-14 speed setting (not sure what that is in RPMs). You would of course remove your grip unless you have a really steady hand and can cut with the grip still installed. Once the rough cutting is down, I will install and check fitment.




I then test fit it to the lower and mark locations and areas that I want to cut off. NOTE: try to cut less than more as you can alway cut more off but cannot add more to the kydex if you cut too much.


Once I cut it the way I want, I set the dremel with a sanding attachment and get to rough sanding it. I try to match it as much as possible.


Cutting the holes for the Chicago screws. I tape the wrap up with the grip inside it and also clamp it down. Mark the locations I want the screws to be and there is no exact science to this part. Based on the Chicago screws, choose the correct drill bit. In my case it was a 1/4" drill bit and I just found a plae to prop it up and drill through.




When done, I will do a little wet sanding with some sand paper. I had 320 grit on hand so I just used that.
I also used some dish washing soap and scrotch brite to scrub the wrap inside and out.

[3lsmc7]

AND the final product. Came out pretty nice but I don't have high expectations! :P I did lose functionality of my ASAP but I don't mind much.



Here is an example of what could happen if you don't pay attention to temp settings and how long you leave the kydex in the oven!

[Jeepers]

nice write up

Thanks thinking about going featureless on my Uzi and too cheap (and like to make stuff myself) to mail order one

[3lsmc7]

That sounds like a fun project. Feel free to post that project here. Or maybe we can have a DIY kydex thread kind of like on ARFCOM. Not necessarily a featureless thread? Idk...

[Fozzie TheBear]

Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to do this. My kydex arrived on Friday and I plan to work on a wrap this week. Perfect timing.

[3lsmc7]

Sounds good. Post your wrap when done if you can. One thing I will say is take your time but be quick. You can always reheat the kydex if you mess up.

[Fozzie TheBear]

Hey 3lsmc7, thanks again. Messed around a bit tonight and feeling ok about my first attempt so far. Think I needed to get the kydex a bit hotter. I'm using some foam I had on hand and not sure it is firm enough. Also, going to invest in a heat gun, think it would be very helpful for fine tuning. Those thing together should help me get better definition. Have 8 sheets of kydex so we'll see what else I can come up with.....feeling crafty

[3lsmc7]

Hey 3lsmc7, thanks again. Messed around a bit tonight and feeling ok about my first attempt so far. Think I needed to get the kydex a bit hotter. I'm using some foam I had on hand and not sure it is firm enough. Also, going to invest in a heat gun, think it would be very helpful for fine tuning. Those thing together should help me get better definition. Have 8 sheets of kydex so we'll see what else I can come up with.....feeling crafty

Great job for a first attempt! I mean it's not like I have a lot of time making these things myself. Does look like maybe you can use some more heat? What temp did you have it at when you pulled it out? Or you didn't press the grip well enough into the kydex. If you don't want to order the foam from the online distributors, I have read a bunch of people using the yoga mats or the camping foam mats. They just double or triple it up.

Let me guess? You got your kydex from amazon? If so, I bought the same ones. 8 pack of 0.060" kydex. Currently trying to make some IWB holsters for my Glocks.

I got my heat gun from Amazon also, I think it was $18 or so... If not I think you can find 20% coupon and grab one of the Harbor Freight ones. A word of warning when using the heat gun on the kydex. It heats them up pretty quickly. So keep the heat gun moving otherwise you can end up over heating the kydex, which will make it all glossy and uneven; ask me how I know. lol