Member DIY Club Restores/Refurbs/Refinishes

[Xstiffshafts]

Here's some pics in natural light:

 

 

Now I'm off to boston on business for the bulk of the week. Coming back thrs night. At least the flight will give me time to finish up my stage 2 review of the Sentio. It's a great putter. Blown away by it actually. I don't know what I'm gonna do with 4 days of not scouring the golf shops in DFW for used putters that can be brought back to life.

 

 

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[PlaidJacket]

This weekend while cleaning and reorganizing my garage I found an old Ping Anser. It's a lefty model so I'm guessing I bought it at a thrift store or something one time. Anyway, I thought now that I have reclaimed my workbench I might give it a go and see if I can restore this thing in some basic way. I can't do the type of work xstiff does or you other guys but I have to start somewhere. Perhaps I'll just buff it with a wire brush wheel in my drill or something and see how it looks.

Any basic advice for a beginner?

[Xstiffshafts]

This weekend while cleaning and reorganizing my garage I found an old Ping Anser. It's a lefty model so I'm guessing I bought it at a thrift store or something one time. Anyway, I thought now that I have reclaimed my workbench I might give it a go and see if I can restore this thing in some basic way. I can't do the type of work xstiff does or you other guys but I have to start somewhere. Perhaps I'll just buff it with a wire brush wheel in my drill or something and see how it looks.

Any basic advice for a beginner?

I've noticed wire brushes can kind of pit or create uneven texture on the clubhead. I'd use a silicon carbide wheel if you can pick one up at local hardware store. That or a hard stitch buffing wheel with a good buffing compound.

 

 

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[Kor.A.Door]

What type of torch do you use?

How long does it take to get the colors?

[Xstiffshafts]

What type of torch do you use?

How long does it take to get the colors?

When I first tried my hand at torching, I used a run of the mill bernzomatic propane torch, then I upgraded to a MAPP gas torch, which is what I've used to do probably the last 4 pages of putters with. Then, last weekend I stepped up to an oxy/acetylene rig which I told myself I'd use to weld and cut as well to justify the spend.

 

I'd suggest propane for a beginner or if you're just gonna do a putter or two. No need to make a big investment for one or two projects. Plus, propane may take a little longer but it makes it easier to heat evenly when you're trying to figure it out.

 

 

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[Liberty Ball Markers]

I agree - plumbing section at your hardware store - small bottle and a screw on torch tip - cheap and easy to start with!

 

 

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[Kor.A.Door]

I used to work in plumbing so I am familiar with using a torch, and I have a hand held that screws into the small tanks, I used Mapp gas since that burns a little hotter than propane, i just wasn't sure how long to torch it, it did it for what seemed like a long time, had the head glowing orange and kept it that way for a while, I'm not sure how long maybe 25-30 minutes, I will let it cool down and check to see what it looks like.

[Kor.A.Door]

im not sure what type of steel it is since I cannot find and specs on the putter, I am thinking it is stainless, I am certain it's not Carbon, again I'm really not sure just wanted to do something different I guess.

[Xstiffshafts]

You probably don't have to go that long with MAPP gas. My advice is to keep the torch moving rapidly all over the head to get a heated evenly you should start to see it change from silver to gold or straw right before your eyes, before it starts to glow. As soon as the metal starts to glow, The color has changed to purple. As you go longer it will change from purple to blue.

 

If you over torch I doubt you'll like the color, but maybe you didn't overcook it-it's hard to say without seeing it.

 

If it turns out you did keep the heat on for a little too long, you can just put it up to a buffing wheel with some polishing compound-it will polish it back to the original color, and you can start again.

 

 

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[Xstiffshafts]

Got the chance to do a couple putters with the O/A setup.

 

https://i.imgur.com/cUo8614.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5oKQgwK.jpg

 

 

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[Xstiffshafts]

 

 

 

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[Kor.A.Door]

I did get some purples and blues, but the body of the putter was kind of dull and pale so I re-did it, and used some of the advice that xstiff fave, I think it will look pretty ok for the first time. I do really need to find some way to remove or strip the finish a little better. How can you tell what type of finish is on a putter?

[Xstiffshafts]

It's kinda hit/miss. I've ruined a few putters by not understanding what I was working with to begin with. *Most* Camerons are just blasted stainless. The beadblasting produces that satin Finish. However the earlier newports are gun blued, and the black mist Finish on the select series from a few years ago is PVD. Finally, the studio design line has some electroplated Finish that is a real mf'er to try to strip-dont even bother.

 

Gianninis are generally either PVD or plated.

 

Bettinardi, except for the DASS heads, usually has some kind of pvd finish.

 

Torching a pvd head can produce cool results... but it's not worth picking up a beat up putter with a pvd finish because it's nearly impossible to "restore" or smooth out the imperfections while maintaining the finish. Plus if it's beat up, chances are the pvd is chipping anyway.

 

Here's a Golo with that black mist pvd that I torched a month or two ago:

 

 

 

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[Xstiffshafts]

I did get some purples and blues, but the body of the putter was kind of dull and pale so I re-did it, and used some of the advice that xstiff fave, I think it will look pretty ok for the first time. I do really need to find some way to remove or strip the finish a little better. How can you tell what type of finish is on a putter?

What kind of putter are you working on?

 

 

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[Kor.A.Door]

What kind of putter are you working on?

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It's an old Ping Anser G2i.

[Kor.A.Door]

It isn't professional by any means, but it actually looks ok,I have a photos here, not sure if it captures what it actually looks like. This is a project putter, so I figure I will just mess around with it until I get it how I want it. I may leave it like this, it's different.

[Liberty Ball Markers]

Looks good! Did you take the insert out of the face?

 

 

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[Kor.A.Door]

Looks good! Did you take the insert out of the face?

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Yes, I just boiled it in water for 10 minutes or so then I used some really small picks and screwdrivers to get between the metal and plastic and peel it off, it's held on by some type of glue or tape, boiling it make the insert softer so getting it out was simple. I wasn't able to get all of the finish off, but it turned out ok, like I said, it's a project putter, so I am able to do whatever with it, it doesn't matter. I asked Spryevo if I can get a carbon fiber insert in LH to replace it. We'll see if they can.

[Liberty Ball Markers]

Good deal - always a learning process, and fun too!

 

 

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[Xstiffshafts]

Damn Kor, looks fantastic! Very impressive!

 

 

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[Kor.A.Door]

Damn Kor, looks fantastic! Very impressive!

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Thanks, the underside of it has more purples and blues, you can't really see it in the pictures

[Xstiffshafts]

Thanks, the underside of it has more purples and blues, you can't really see it in the picturesimage.jpeg

Snap a photo in the daylight tomorrow. Colors you don't even know are there yet will be visible.

[Kor.A.Door]

Snap a photo in the daylight tomorrow. Colors you don't even know are there yet will be visible.

By moving the flame and keeping it even on the heat and then only bringing the heat up to where it is just about to glow really came out well. Makes me want to send a couple putter heads to a plater to have whatever finish is on them removed, so I can do this more. It really is quite fun. My advice to anyone who is wanting to try is to take the extra time on getting finish removed, and the actual torch in part only takes a few minutes. Don't be afraid to try, pick up something inexpensive off EBay and mess around with it.

[Liberty Ball Markers]

I agree! The old TP Mills putters are perfect for this - carbon steel, painted (and usually most of that is gone), and very functional when you get them finished.

 

 

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[Xstiffshafts]

Here's a Sonoma I picked up for $100 at the used golf swap shop down the street the other day.

 

Condition when purchased:

[imghttps://i.imgur.com/KWP2gBD.jpg[/img]

 

Midway through prep:

[imghttps://i.imgur.com/uQ9od4i.jpg[/img]

 

When complete:

[Xstiffshafts]

By moving the flame and keeping it even on the heat and then only bringing the heat up to where it is just about to glow really came out well. Makes me want to send a couple putter heads to a plater to have whatever finish is on them removed, so I can do this more. It really is quite fun. My advice to anyone who is wanting to try is to take the extra time on getting finish removed, and the actual torch in part only takes a few minutes. Don't be afraid to try, pick up something inexpensive off EBay and mess around with it.

That's some good advice. On the 3 or 4 putters that I have simply destroyed over the course of learning how to do some of the torching/working on welding/stamping/etc... as well as the putters that I'm just not pleased with when all is complete, it's always because I got impatient in the prep process, just wanna get it in the vice and put the torch to it. But, it's all for naught if you're not thorough, careful, and MOST of all, CLEAN!

 

 

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[Kor.A.Door]

What are you using to remove the old finish? I'm guessing some sort of grinding wheel. I have found that to get the surface smooth I can use some scotchbrite, but I can't seem to all of the old finish off. I really what to do this myself without sending them out for stripping

[Liberty Ball Markers]

Media blaster is the simplest way - a cheap blast cabinet is $200 or so.

 

Otherwise, lots of dremel tool, hand sanding, etc.

 

 

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[Xstiffshafts]

I hand sanded the most recent putter, that Sonoma. 120 grit to get dings smoothed + file where necessary, then 400 grit paper, then 1000 grit, then 1000 grit wet sand, then 2000 dry sand... the finish should be entirely gone by that point, and the head so shiny that you can see your reflection all over it. Then polish the head using like a flitz or white diamond or if you have access to a buffing wheel that's even better.... after that I have a little routine I go thru to wash the head that seems to work with some measure of regularity --- then torch.

 

 

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[Xstiffshafts]

Media blaster is the simplest way - a cheap blast cabinet is $200 or so.

 

Otherwise, lots of dremel tool, hand sanding, etc.

 

 

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I haven't found blasting to be a great way to strip finishing down to raw. I use beadblasting as a finishing tool to achieve satin finishes. It def won't smooth the rough spots out... the best way to both strip Finish and smooth out dings has to be the fine silicon carbide deburring wheels, imo -- I use the half and quarter inch thickness on my 6" grinder.