Tips for Heat Stippling

Soldering Iron

• Test the soldering iron tip on a small, concealed portion of the grip. This allows you to visualize what type of mark the tip will make. You can choose a smaller or larger tip to come up with different patterns. You can also brush the soldering iron back and forth to make a wide flat spot. It helps to purchase a thick piece of plastic to practice on in advance. This helps eliminate errors when working with the gun.

Patterns

• You can work the soldering iron in a pattern or make the look entirely random. Some people like to pull a logo and then use a stencil to stipple the gun handle with the logo. Be sure your stencil can survive the heat of the soldering iron, otherwise you will melt the stencil into the handle. Using an adjustable temperature soldering iron allows you to set the heat so it will melt the polymer but not a metal stencil. You can also use different soldering tips that come in a variety of dimple patterns and sizes.

Fit to Hand

• If you want to stipple the handle so that it matches your grip, you can use a chalk pencil to outline where your hand normally goes. This gives you a guideline for where to apply heat in order to achieve the desired effect. This makes the handle feel customized to your hand.

Torch Stippling

• A torch can be used to achieve a bubbled effect on the handle. Lightly brush the flame past the areas you want stippled until you have reached the texture you like. Start with a simple pass and build from there if you want a greater variance. Be sure to let the polymer reset before laying it on a flat surface, because it will conform to what it touches if it is still malleable.