Five Point Grips
Eight steps, about ten minutes, no special tools. Surface prep decides everything, do that one step properly and your Terragrip™ set will not lift.
Read this page through once before you open anything. Then work through it with your unloaded firearm.
Clear your firearm before you begin. Drop the magazine, lock the slide back, and visually and physically confirm the chamber is empty. Keep ammunition in a separate room for the duration of the install.
Install between 60°F and 85°F. Pressure-sensitive adhesive does not flow properly when cold, and a cold garage is the most common reason an edge lifts a week later. If your firearm has been in a cold vehicle, let it reach room temperature first.
In The Box
A full set of precision-cut Terragrip™ silicone pieces made for your specific model.
Additional pieces for every backstrap size your firearm ships with.
Included if your firearm ships with extended magazines.
For degreasing. This is the step that determines whether the bond holds.
Work in order. Do not skip step three.
Unload the firearm. Field stripping is not required, but it makes the job easier, separating the slide from the frame gives you clear access to every grip surface with nothing to work around. If you'd rather leave it assembled, an unloaded pistol works fine.
Either way, confirm the chamber is empty before you start, and if you are stripping it, confirm before the slide comes off, not after.
With the grip's backing still on, lay each piece against the frame and check for correct fit. Identify the top edge and orientation of every piece before anything is peeled.
Thirty seconds here prevents the most common mistake, realizing a piece is upside down after it is already stuck.
Wipe the entire grip area with the included rubbing alcohol wipe and dry thoroughly. Work in one direction rather than circles, and pay particular attention to the backstrap and the area under the trigger guard, they hold the most oil.
Do not touch the frame with bare fingers after this step. Skin oil alone is enough to compromise the bond. Handle the frame by its edges.
Starting with the primary grip piece from the top left side, align the grip against the frame without stretching it. Set one edge first and let the rest follow.
Stretching the material distorts the cut and guarantees the far edge will not line up.
Wrap the grip gently around the frame, pressing it into place with medium pressure. Roll it down rather than dropping it flat, rolling is what prevents air bubbles.
On curved areas, start at the center of the curve and work outward toward each edge.
Apply the backstrap piece in the same fashion at the rear of the grip. Use the piece that matches the backstrap currently fitted to your pistol.
Keep the spare backstrap pieces. If you change backstraps later, you already have the matching grip piece.
Apply any other additional pieces in your set, magazine pieces, front strap sections, or accent panels, using the same align, wrap, press sequence.
Work largest to smallest. Small pieces are easier to place accurately against edges that are already set.
Press every piece firmly for a full 30 seconds to secure adhesion. Pressure-sensitive adhesive bonds by pressure, not by time, use real force, then go back over every edge and corner specifically.
Edges get the least pressure during a casual install and are where lifting starts. Run a thumbnail around each perimeter.
Reassemble your firearm, then leave the adhesive alone. The bond reaches full strength one day after installation. You can handle the pistol normally, just don't stress the adhesive while it is still setting.
Almost everything below traces back to surface prep or edge pressure.
Nearly always insufficient surface prep or insufficient edge pressure. Press the edge down hard for a full 30 seconds and give it another day.
If it lifts again, that piece needs to come off, the area needs to be degreased a second time, and the piece needs to be reapplied. If your frame had been sitting in CLP, degrease twice as a matter of course.
Lift the nearest edge, let the air out, and roll the piece back down from that edge inward. Don't try to push a bubble toward the middle of a panel, it has nowhere to go.
Within the first few seconds, lift it and realign, the material repositions cleanly before it's been pressed.
Once firmly pressed, don't force it off dry. Warm it gently with a hair dryer on low for 30 to 60 seconds, then lift a corner with a plastic tool and peel slowly. Never use anything metal against a polymer frame.
That's the point of the product, nothing about this is permanent. Warm the piece, lift a corner with a plastic tool, and peel back slowly at a low angle. Your frame comes out exactly as it went in.
Send us a photo. We'd rather help you get it right than have you fight it.
