Many people have asked how to replace a grip. I recently purchased a new grip and decided to take some pics.
The only tools you need are a hair dryer and a tube of 3M Weatherstrip Adhesive. I use the Black stuff.
1) First secure the bow in a vise or a press if you have one. You could do it without either however it becomes a bit more awkward handling the bow.
I put my bow in my RS Bow Vise.
2) Next you need to heat up the grip and riser to soften the old adhesive. Use the hairdryer and apply heat directly to the back of the grip. This will heat the wood of the grip as well as the riser.
Heat times will vary depending on the power of the hairdryer.
It took me about 10 minutes to get the adhesive on my bow to soften.
3) Once you get the grip and riser hot enough start putting pressure under the over hang at the bottom of the grip to try and lift the bottom of the grip off the riser.
4) When the bottom starts to move keep pressure on it while pushing at the top of the grip. You may have to let the bottom fall back into place some in order for there to be room for the top of the grip to slide out. Once you get the top loose you will start to see a gap open between the grip cutout in the riser and the grip.
*NOTE: Keep the pressure and movement focused toward the back of the grip and not side to side as this could crack the grip*
5) keep working the grip back and forth, top to bottom, until it slides off.
6)Once the grip is off there will be adhesive residue still on the riser. To remove it I took a small, flat blade screwdriver and carefully scarped it off. I also used a sharp utility knife blade to cut the thick stuff off.
I tried to get the area where the new adhesive will go as clean as possible.
*NOTE: BE CAREFUL!! Keep in mind that the riser is aluminum and you can cut into it with any sharp object. You can also very easily scrape the camo dip off. The object here is to get the majority of the old adhesive off the riser*
The pic below is off my riser after I scraped the adhesive off.
7) Once the riser is clean of the old adhesive apply a thin bead of the new 3M Weather strip adhesive to the riser in the area of the back of the grip. Use the old adhesive as guidance as to where to run the bead of the new adhesive.
8) Next slide the new grip onto the riser.
9) Finally, once the new grip is on, secure it with string, an elastic, packing tape or whatever you have available to keep pressure on the grip to the riser until the adhesive sets up.
Pic of the 3M Weatherstrip adhesive for those of you that have never used it and don't know what top look for. You should be able to purchase this from your local auto parts store for about $8.
That's it. Let it set up over night even though it probably won't take that long.
Take your time removing the old grip. If you apply much side to side pressure you stand a good chance of cracking the grip as one side os very thin.
I would also recommend
against using a screwdriver or some other tool to help pry the old grip off. This is another good way to crack or damage the grip. Heat is all you should need.
Good luck!
