How to Silicon Carbide Your Grip

By: Marcee Mae Finn

This topic is always fun to discuss with members of Sanctum 1791 and fellow 2A friends. Let’s first discuss what and why silicon carbide.

What is it? Silicon carbide is an extremely hard synthetic material made from silicon and carbon. It is lightweight, heat resistant and extremely durable.

It has become a pretty popular material in the firearm industry especially to apply to firearm grips. I have been doing this method for years and at this point, a big advocate for it.

I have had plenty of handguns, especially, that came from the manufacturer with a non-aggressive or smoother texture to the grip. This doesn’t help too much during those days where you can fry an egg on the pavement and your hands and arms are pretty moist in the summer months of NC.

This can substantially affect my grip in the wrong direction of what I am looking to achieve when I hit the range. I am looking for a consistent grip for each shot and the silicon carbide application helps with this and allows for quicker follow-up shots, better management of muzzle flip, and more consistent grip pressure.

You may see this often with competitive shooters or for everyday carry; almost all of my handguns have this applied to them. So when one of the staff members here at Sanctum asked if I could do one for him, I very happily said “of course!”.

So here we are, and in this article I am going to explain to YOU just how easy it is to apply this to your firearm, if you were looking to give it a try! Don’t worry it is fairly simple and doesn’t take much time to do.

NOTE! Silicon carbide is permanent and you won’t be able to take it off (or very easily), so if you want to try it on an object you don’t care too much about prior, I recommend it.

Firstly.. gather your supplies!

• You will need a workspace area (I just used a table and placed a cardboard target down for my workspace including where I mix the epoxy on)
• A couple sizes of paintbrushes (smaller ones work better in my opinion, to get into smaller crevices)
• Painter’s tape
• Sandpaper (I use around 150-100 grit, or any fine grit sandpaper)
• Epoxy (I like the BSI Bob Smith Industries 2-part, 15 minute epoxy)
• A bowl and spoon
• And of course the silicon carbide (I have tried a few and this one in 60/90 is by far my favorite for the look and the texture).
• Gloves recommended for extra protection.

Once you have your area prepared, here comes the most time-consuming, but an important step!

Let’s tape off all of the areas you don’t want the silicon carbide to go or get into. I tape the bottom area of the mag well, cover all pins, the magazine release, and any other areas you don’t want to put silicon carbide in.

When applying the tape, feel free to get creative with it! I am a perfectionist and so for me, this takes the most time of the entire process, as I like to ensure each area is as close to perfection as I can.

Once everything is taped, then take your sandpaper and rough up the grip area. This part doesn’t have to be perfect, just enough to rough up the surface to help the epoxy stick to it.

Now it is time to mix your epoxy. For this part, you won’t have too much time to work with, so make sure you are ready to apply to the grip and ready for the silicon carbide. So have your bowl of silicon and spoon ready to go. Now squeeze out about a half-dollar size amount of the epoxy and a half-dollar size of the hardener (equal parts here) and then mix them together with your brush.

Once you mix them together evenly, apply the epoxy to your grip evenly. Don’t worry if you make a mistake, it is pretty forgiving to work with. Once covered, it should have a nice thick shine to it, evenly.

Now hold the grip over your bowl and take your spoon to sprinkle the silicon carbide over the epoxy areas. Make sure you coat it heavily. Go over it a few times especially in the areas that are still shiny from the epoxy. I personally don’t like to push the silicon carbide into the epoxy, I don’t think the look of it comes out very nice, so I repeat coating it heavily.

Once coated with the silicon carbide, set it to the side and let it set for about 15-20 minutes. I then like to (slowly) remove the painter’s tape and touch up any areas to ensure it is even. Again, don’t touch the silicon carbide. Let it set overnight to fully harden. Then voila! Your grip is done! Easy peasy.

Now reassemble your gun back together and hit the range at Sanctum! Let me know how much you love it at mfinn@sanctum1791.com or if you have any questions.

– Marcee Mae