I replaced my Futaba 9CHP a few years ago with a Taranis XD9 Plus. Though it’s a nice radio, it just felt cheap and plasticy in my hands and I decided to do something about it. I had experience with a rubber grip material from shootings sports, and I decided to see if it could help my Taranis.
I ordered the rubber grip material from eBay. It usually comes in an envelope size piece for around $4-6, and is advertised as “rubber grip material” or “gun grip material”. Be aware, there is other grip material that may look the same, but is grit based like sandpaper – this may be too course for you. The rubber grip material is soft and grippy – not course and grippy. The adhesive on all I have experience with does not cause a mess if the grip material is removed at a later date. It actually comes off very nice, yet sticks well enough.
I created my grip a while ago, and lost some of the template, but attached in this article is a attached image of the most complex part of the grip. It can be printed to scale. As for the parts I left out? If your hand touches plastic, make a template and add some grip. The other parts can be omitted, or created with the below process.
Creating a custom grip –
Get some blue or green painters tape and apply it where you want the grip to be. You can even apply the tape beyond where you want the grip edge to be, and use a pen to show where you want the actual edge. This process may involve cutting the tape in tiny shapes to allow it to contour over various curves. Once you are certain you have the whole grip template made, peel the tape off the surface and stick it onto the backing of your rubber grip material. You can then trace the grip outline with an x-acto knife (or pen first, then cut) and you have your first grip. Now you can do your other grip, but remember, it will be a mirror of the first. Don’t make two of the same grip!
Now that you have your grips cut out, before applying, I recommend rubbing some medium grit steel wool on the grip material to remove the surface gloss. This will remove the surface gloss from the manufacturing process of the grip material, and make it softer and grippier.
Now you are ready to apply the grip. Clean the surface with some denatured alcohol and a paper towel so the adhesive can grip well. Next, heat up the grip material with a hair dryer to soften it and make the application easier. Line it up well, and stick it on.
Done! Your radio now feels like less a chunk of plastic, and more like a quality DSLR camera or high end radio!
Taranis Grip Template below - Be sure to scale to size - make take trial and error printing.
Disclaimer - I have no affiliation with these sellers
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