Black Nitride Iron Refinishing Thread

[JTexGolfer 1,040]

So as discussed in other threads on here I have decided to send my trusty Srixon Z765's off to Tiger Nick Golf in Ohio to get a Black Nitride coating put on them. I love black weges with a white bottom score line on them and have had better luck aiming that color combination so I figured I would give it a try with my current iron set. I have been playing these irons with UST Recoil 95 shafts in them but decided to go with Steelfiber i110cw's for the irons that Nick will be sending. I had tested that shaft in a 6 iron and wedge and liked the consistency I got with it slightly better than the Recoils.

 

The Z765's look like this new:

 

And this is what I am hoping to get them to look like:

 

I pulled the heads and send shafts and grips to Nick last week. The 9 iron and PW were new heads as I had used them a ton and wanted some newer grooves to be sent off.  As part of his service he will strip the old chrome from my heads, refinish in matte Black Nitride, spine align the shafts and assemble the clubs to a pre-agreed swingweight. I prefer a heavy D5 iron swingweight and he was up front that he might not be able to achieve that swing weight with the Steelfiber shafts. Hopefully I won't have to put lead tape back on these like I had before but if so at least he was very up front about it. Here are the heads as they were sent off:

 

 

And this is what the Black Nitride should look like:

 

I was told to expect a 4-5 week turnaround but I heard from Nick the middle of this week and it looks like I might get lucky and get them back in 2-3. I'll post pics of the finsihed products here. Communication has been great so far so I have my fingers crossed that these turn out great.

[tommc23 9,883]

Good luck hope they turn out well for ya

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[DPattGolf 1,624]

Tiger Nick Golf does some incredible work!

[RookieBlue7 1,692]

I'd have went with DLC personally. It'll last a lot longer. Tiger Nick's stuff does come back looking nice though

[JTexGolfer 1,040]

I'd have went with DLC personally. It'll last a lot longer. Tiger Nick's stuff does come back looking nice though

I have seen varying accounts of how well DLC holds up. Saw a WITB for Horschel when he still had the black PXG irons and they looked really rough. I know each coating has it's + and - though. Hope I chose the right one.

 

Main decision point for me though was that Tiger Nick does spine aligning and club assembly for same or less price as others would do just the heads. I'll keep everyone informed on how the black nitride holds up.

[Miboy62 1,859]

They will look awesome in black.

[DPattGolf 1,624]

I have seen varying accounts of how well DLC holds up. Saw a WITB for Horschel when he still had the black PXG irons and they looked really rough. I know each coating has it's + and - though. Hope I chose the right one.

 

Main decision point for me though was that Tiger Nick does spine aligning and club assembly for same or less price as others would do just the heads. I'll keep everyone informed on how the black nitride holds up.

From what I have seen the only Black finish that seems to hold up on irons and wedges is the DMB on Cobra and Maltby clubs. Unfortunately I don't believe it is something that can had as an aftermarket customization

[jlukes 13,593]

I'd have went with DLC personally. It'll last a lot longer. Tiger Nick's stuff does come back looking nice though

 

Agreed.

 

The black nitride is going to wear much faster.  A true DLC coating (and not just the standard PVD coating) will last much longer.

[JTexGolfer 1,040]

One of the main reasons I started this thread was to catalog how well (or not) that the finish wears. Lots of threads on other sites about finishes but not many pictures. They get forgotten after one or two rounds or maybe one long range session, but I want to catalog how well these wear. I practice and play a lot so these will get a work out one way or the other.

 

The only long term pictures I found of DLC were Horschels PXG irons and they looked really beat up and uneven. But if they Nitride doesn't work on these I may go that route with another set. Or just buy a set of DBM Maltbys lol. I know I want black irons and I haven't been able to find the info I wanted so i am going to try and create it, whether that result is good or bad.

 

Hopefully if others have their irons done they will do the same so we can actually compare the finishes once they have been used hard.

[DPattGolf 1,624]

One of the main reasons I started this thread was to catalog how well (or not) that the finish wears. Lots of threads on other sites about finishes but not many pictures. They get forgotten after one or two rounds or maybe one long range session, but I want to catalog how well these wear. I practice and play a lot so these will get a work out one way or the other.

 

The only long term pictures I found of DLC were Horschels PXG irons and they looked really beat up and uneven. But if they Nitride doesn't work on these I may go that route with another set. Or just buy a set of DBM Maltbys lol. I know I want black irons and I haven't been able to find the info I wanted so i am going to try and create it, whether that result is good or bad.

 

Hopefully if others have their irons done they will do the same so we can actually compare the finishes once they have been used hard.

I will try to post some pictures soon of my Cobra King Pros from when I got them back in March and what they look like now for comparison.

[JTexGolfer 1,040]

From what I have seen the only Black finish that seems to hold up on irons and wedges is the DMB on Cobra and Maltby clubs. Unfortunately I don't believe it is something that can had as an aftermarket customization

I believe you are right on this, or at least I couldn't find anyone that offered it. Reviews I have read about it say that it is a great wearing finish.

[JTexGolfer 1,040]

Got great news from Nick today, the irons were finished ahead of schedule and should ship back out to me tomorrow, which is a good two weeks sooner than anticipated.

 

For a reminder, this is what my heads looked like before:

 

And here is the picture of my iron heads that Nick sent me today:

 

I will post more pictures when the assembled irons arrive and wear pics as they start to get used.

[GB13 7,779]

Those look great!! I hope the finish holds up well.

[JTexGolfer 1,040]

Those look great!! I hope the finish holds up well.

 

Me too! I have heard good reviews but time will tell. Nick's prices are hard to beat though so if they make it a year looking good it was worth it.

 

$270 to have those done, shafts spine aligned and reinstalled. I thought that was very reasonable.

 

Others charge up to $50 a head with no clean up of the heads before hand. Nick touched these up before they were refinished and to me they look like new. A couple of the heads had quite a bit of bag chatter that wasn't evident in the pictures.

[GB13 7,779]

Wow! That is a really good price, especially for someone with high reviews..... those two things unfortunately don't normally go together. Cleaning the heads up and quick turnaround time really shows that he cares about his costumers.

[JTexGolfer 1,040]

Bad news just came in that he couldn't get my swing weights where I wanted them, which is admittedly a high SW for irons, so I will have to use some lead tape on these to get them up to D4. Going to try thin strips on top of the muscle cavity and then sharpie that last one so it will hopefully blend in.

[RookieBlue7 1,692]

One of the main reasons I started this thread was to catalog how well (or not) that the finish wears. Lots of threads on other sites about finishes but not many pictures. They get forgotten after one or two rounds or maybe one long range session, but I want to catalog how well these wear. I practice and play a lot so these will get a work out one way or the other.

 

The only long term pictures I found of DLC were Horschels PXG irons and they looked really beat up and uneven. But if they Nitride doesn't work on these I may go that route with another set. Or just buy a set of DBM Maltbys lol. I know I want black irons and I haven't been able to find the info I wanted so i am going to try and create it, whether that result is good or bad.

 

Hopefully if others have their irons done they will do the same so we can actually compare the finishes once they have been used hard.

PXG doesn't use true dlc. Theirs is more of a standard nitride type coating. True dlc lasts forever.

 

Tiger nick also offers black nickel that lasts a looooong time too (or he used to).

[RookieBlue7 1,692]

Bad news just came in that he couldn't get my swing weights where I wanted them, which is admittedly a high SW for irons, so I will have to use some lead tape on these to get them up to D4. Going to try thin strips on top of the muscle cavity and then sharpie that last one so it will hopefully blend in.

They can be built there, promise. I just built out a set for a customer at E-O. Took a few tricks but d4 is nothing to get to honestly.

[808nation 1,586]

Me too! I have heard good reviews but time will tell. Nick's prices are hard to beat though so if they make it a year looking good it was worth it.

 

$270 to have those done, shafts spine aligned and reinstalled. I thought that was very reasonable.

 

Others charge up to $50 a head with no clean up of the heads before hand. Nick touched these up before they were refinished and to me they look like new. A couple of the heads had quite a bit of bag chatter that wasn't evident in the pictures.

Have you looked in to DLC (Diamond like Carbon) I read jlukes mentioning it once and that it is one of the most durable finishes out there, I wonder what the cost is. Your irons look pretty awesome in that finish, looking to hearing more about durability after a season.

 

#PowerToThePlayer

[stage1350 81]

Reviving this thread.  Has anyone found a company that can do a DLC refinish on irons?  

 

And price for a set?  I've got an old set I'd like to renew with that finish.