Blue Stretch Mod

[dorfinator]

I chemically stripped the clip on my D4 wave because the black was chipping off. The resulting finish is dull and unobtrusive, and a lot more durable than the coating. It is easy to do, but the stripper needed a little help from a Scotch-Brite pad. I put it in a yogurt tub with liquid brush cleaner to soak, then scrubbed it with the pad. Voila!

Definitely have to pay a visit to my local Lowe's refinishing department!

[dorfinator]

The blade isn't black.
The screws aren't black.
The clip should not be black. Cool mod! IMHO, the silver looks great with the blue. Here's my old D4 with a sanded clip:

Thanks for your photos too tradja. I guess my black clip will get stripped when I get home!!! :eek:

[Fred Sanford]

I like the silver clip better but not the factory one. I prefer to take the factory black clip and strip it and then sand it with 400 grit so it has a satin finish rather than super shiny.

[dorfinator]

I like the silver clip better but not the factory one. I prefer to take the factory black clip and strip it and then sand it with 400 grit so it has a satin finish rather than super shiny.

Thanks for that idea David. After getting all of your inputs that what I plan on doing. Take the factory clip, strip it, and sand it with a very fine grit paper and then maybe try and polish it smooth.

[JspyEDC]

Thanks for that idea David. After getting all of your inputs that what I plan on doing. Take the factory clip, strip it, and sand it with a very fine grit paper and then maybe try and polish it smooth.

Or.... you can order an ADVENTURA clip, which was the one supplied on that model which had the lanyard hole on the shiny, SS clip. Same as the black clip, but polished SS.

2 years ago I bought what I thought would be a lifetime supply, but ran out in a matter of months with so many D4 and E4 variants coming out in the last 24 months.

Good Luck

[yowzer]

The blade isn't black.
The screws aren't black.
The clip should not be black. Cool mod! IMHO, the silver looks great with the blue. Here's my old D4 with a sanded clip:

I like this approach much more than a factory silver clip. The black coating's still in the Spyder outline, making it stand out more. Looks nice.

[RIOT]

cool poll, nice to see what the people want.

[sharpguitarist]

i thought the black clips looked good, until they got all scratched up. so i've stripped the clips on my two delicas and my endura. i think the sandblasted finish under the black looks so much better against the foliage green g-10. i used acetone to strip off the black. just beware, acetone is not good for you, and it has an overpowering odor. just a paper towel and just a little rubbing does the trick. and if you don't soak the clip, you can leave the black in the :spyder: . the factory sandblasted finish isn't so obvious against faded jeans.

[sharpguitarist]

[mr.vu]

I also like the look of chemically stripped clips. Its the first thing I usually do to my new knives. The paint on the Millies are tough stuff, they wont budge for me.

[sharpguitarist]

i don't think there's any paint on the millie clip. i've tried to strip the clip on my foliage green millie, and it just wouldn't come off! looked at it through a loupe, and it looks like just "black" metal, though i could be wrong. any thoughts on this?

[The Deacon]

i don't think there's any paint on the millie clip. i've tried to strip the clip on my foliage green millie, and it just wouldn't come off! looked at it through a loupe, and it looks like just "black" metal, though i could be wrong. any thoughts on this?

It may not be "paint", but it's not black all the way through either. It's definitely some form of coating. Spyderco has used quite a few different ones over the years. Some are more scratch resistant and thus more difficult to remove than others, all will scratch eventually and can be removed if you want them off badly enough.