Torching Stainless and carbon DIY - Part 1 and part 2 3-8-14 Update 3-22-23

[remlap13]

Hey OneAugusta, or anyone else who may be able to help. I grabbed an old Northwestern Model 3300 putter from a thrift shop a few weeks ago with the intention of refinishing and eventually torching it. Nothing fancy, but I liked the shape, and it seemed like a good starter putter to practice with. I followed the prep as closely as possible, getting the putter smooth and polished. Put it on an extremely long drill bit I had lying around, set up a clamp system, and away we go. 

 

About 5min into the torching, as I was applying heat to the hosel where the putter was sitting on the drill bit, the metal started to rapidly become rough, and almost... Bubble? I immediately stopped what I was doing. 

 

 

Any thoughts on what could have caused this? My putter was supposedly stainless steel. I did notice some sort of slightly coppery finish on it during the sanding process, but was able to get all of it off. Maybe there's remnants of the finish stuck in the metal? Could the drill bit have become extremely hot inside the hosel and caused it? 

 

Thanks in advance for any advice you have. Not looking forward to sanding that spot down again, but maybe this putter just isn't a good torching candidate anyway. 

Edited December 11, 2022 by remlap13

[golfluvzme]

52 minutes ago, remlap13 said:

Hey OneAugusta, or anyone else who may be able to help. I grabbed an old Northwestern Model 3300 putter from a thrift shop a few weeks ago with the intention of refinishing and eventually torching it. Nothing fancy, but I liked the shape, and it seemed like a good starter putter to practice with. I followed the prep as closely as possible, getting the putter smooth and polished. Put it on an extremely long drill bit I had lying around, set up a clamp system, and away we go. 

 

About 5min into the torching, as I was applying heat to the hosel where the putter was sitting on the drill bit, the metal started to rapidly become rough, and almost... Bubble? I immediately stopped what I was doing. 

 

 

 

Any thoughts on what could have caused this? My putter was supposedly stainless steel. I did notice some sort of slightly coppery finish on it during the sanding process, but was able to get all of it off. Maybe there's remnants of the finish stuck in the metal? Could the drill bit have become extremely hot inside the hosel and caused it? 

 

Thanks in advance for any advice you have. Not looking forward to sanding that spot down again, but maybe this putter just isn't a good torching candidate anyway. 

Remlap,

You did the smart thing by stopping the heat and shutting down this project. 

The same thing happened to me a long time ago with a Spalding TP Mills #VII.  I stripped off the black finish, polished her up and fired up the torch.  All I wanted was some color, but the blistering started, I kept the heat applied and PLOP!  The head melted right off of the base of the neck. 

I reached out to a good source and asked if he knew what metal it might have been.  He stated that when Truett was under contract for Spalding, he had many foundries making his heads and very little control over the metals they used in them.  He told me that it could have been anything from aluminum to magnesium to really impure stainless.   I'm glad that it was not the magnesium......once it starts on fire, there isn't any putting it out, LOL.

My bet would be that your putter head is just a very cheap variety of metal and had you kept the heat applied, you might have had the same end result.

Don't get discouraged and thanks for sharing the picture!

 

LaMont in AZ

[remlap13]

Thanks LaMont. I appreciate you sharing your own story. I guess I'll have to make a point of finding a "better" putter next time around... Something that I know is stainless.

 

At least I got some practice with all the prep work! 

[MichGolf]

Can the heat gun step be substituted with anything? Will a hairdryer be good enough or will heading it in the oven at a low temp do well? 

[sm_watts]

On 12/10/2022 at 8:45 PM, remlap13 said:

Thanks LaMont. I appreciate you sharing your own story. I guess I'll have to make a point of finding a "better" putter next time around... Something that I know is stainless.

 

At least I got some practice with all the prep work! 

I’ll second LaMont’s response. I’ve practiced torching on several old TPM putters, mostly with success. However, I did one and the head turned out one color on half and a completely different color on the other end with a definite line in between. I reached out to David Mills and he told me that in the Spaulding productions they used a wide range of pot metals and there was no real way of knowing what you were getting. It might torch well, and it might melt and fall apart. At least they’re cheap to experiment on!

[oneaugusta]

One other thing to consider on older and any putter is the prep. Good prep = less torching time lower heat, poor prep = longer torching time, high heat.  For sure this will make a difference on deforming the mixed metal putters. 

[IZang]

On 1/14/2023 at 11:05 AM, oneaugusta said:

One other thing to consider on older and any putter is the prep. Good prep = less torching time lower heat, poor prep = longer torching time, high heat.  For sure this will make a difference on deforming the mixed metal putters. 

Do you do the same prep process for a new putter as an old putter? If the putter doesn't have dings or anything will the degreasing/cleaning process be sufficient before torching? Thanks!

[oneaugusta]

16 hours ago, IZang said:

Do you do the same prep process for a new putter as an old putter? If the putter doesn't have dings or anything will the degreasing/cleaning process be sufficient before torching? Thanks!

May not need as much prep but some sanding and polishing.  Even on a new putter you still need fresh metal and removal of oxidation. 

[IZang]

24 minutes ago, oneaugusta said:

May not need as much prep but some sanding and polishing.  Even on a new putter you still need fresh metal and removal of oxidation. 

Appreciate it! 

[Rosco1216]

I have a putter I’m wanting to try torching. I’m getting the head bead blasted with super fine glass first. After blasting and then proper cleaning, it would be ready for torching correct?   Neck is stainless and head is carbon.  just looking to get the head to a rusty golden brown hue. 

[oneaugusta]

19 hours ago, Rosco1216 said:

I have a putter I’m wanting to try torching. I’m getting the head bead blasted with super fine glass first. After blasting and then proper cleaning, it would be ready for torching correct?   Neck is stainless and head is carbon.  just looking to get the head to a rusty golden brown hue. 

No, you would need at the very least to use a quality polish to remove some of the oxidation, then clean. Otherwise you won’t get the results you want.  

[oneaugusta]

Gonna go out on a limb that many don’t understand what oxidation is. This is the black that comes of when using a polish. I go over 100% of the putter numerous times to remove. I use a q-tip for crevices to get in the tight spaces.
Many think you can buff to a good shine a throw the heat to it with MAAP gas and it’s that simple. You’ll get temporary results that will fade or oxidize. My preferred method is remove most all oxidation and slow heat build up with propane. 

[remlap13]

I found a Wilson 8802 at a used golf store yesterday. Looks to be in pretty decent shape as far as dings are concerned. Based on the grip (looks original), I'm gonna say this was from the 70s or 80s. Might finally have a proper candidate for torching. 

[BigWicks]

Trials and tribulations report from a new member and first post here. I’ve had a week long journey and too many hours sanding, but I have some results to share. Before I go too deep, I want to say that I’m mostly happy with my outcome. 
 

I have an older Nike Method Core putter made of a mystery casted metal I was looking to give new life to. I recently had a full bag fitting and surprisingly my fitter said there was absolutely nothing wrong with my putter and I should just keep it. With that being said I stumbled across this forum and followed Augusta’s steps pretty closely. I’ll share pictures as well as steps below. 
-Here are some stock before images for reference

 

-I knocked down all the dents and dings by dry sanding with 120-180 grit. I continued with dry sanding at 400-800 grit 
-I also made this tool to scrape the paint out by taping a needle to a pen and made sandpaper wrapped popsicle stickers for the hard to reach areas as recommend on this thread

 

-wet sanded with 1000-3000 grit. washing with dawn also between every grit change the whole way

 

-polished with harbor freight solid green steel polish and a polishing rotary attachment on my dremel and then hand polished many times after with mothers mag polish until no more oxidation was left.  washing with dawn after and soaking in acetone

 

-just as I started the torching process and saw my first color flip (gold) my putter face caught on fire and my insert fell out. I was not aware that my putter had some sort of polymer behind the face and it melted all over my putter

 

-lots of scraping with a razor blade and using my needle tool from earlier too clean the milling groves I arrived at a satin finish. The satin finish was achieved with a red scotch-brite pad under water to knock off the remaining bronze gold color. Then I polished several more times with mothers mag polish to remove oxidation and washed with dawn again. 

 

-started the torching process again and after getting through gold-purple colors I ended at this beautiful blue beauty of a color. 
 

-my next mistake was after 10 min of cooling I whipped to head off with a cat hair and lent covered cotton shirt drenched in baby oil. I then wrapped the putter in a baby oil soaked clean cotton shirt to set over night after waiting an hour and a half for cool down first. I awoke the next morning to this horror. 
 

-after washing with alcohol and washing with dawn again and being tired of sanding and polishing and not wanting to do those steps again I continued onto paint filling. I ended up with this product which almost turned out an oil can finish with some unintended textures. While I was at it I used a scotch-brite on my oxidized shaft to give it a satin finish and installed a new grip. 

[oneaugusta]

Everything you did during the process sounds good except the soaking in acetone, just not sure about that? I clean multiple times with alcohol with lint free cloth with final lightly damp alcohol wipe with piece of cloth cotton diaper. When you wiped with oil soaked cloth had it cooled for 10 or 15 minutes?

[BigWicks]

3 minutes ago, oneaugusta said:

Everything you did during the process sounds good except the soaking in acetone, just not sure about that? I clean multiple times with alcohol with lint free cloth with final lightly damp alcohol wipe with piece of cloth cotton diaper. When you wiped with oil soaked cloth had it cooled for 10 or 15 minutes?

So the main reason for soaking in acetone was for paint removal and I assumed it would work similarly to alcohol. After all final prep was done, I used dawn for a final clean, then rubbed down with alcohol, then put in my club head holder rig, (which was just a coat hanger) then wiped down a final time with alcohol. When I wiped the club down with oil I waited 10 min. I believe the cotton shirt I was using had lint and cat hair and that may have caused some of the textures I’m seeing. After letting sit for 1.5 hours I soaked in a new cotton oiled t shirt over night.  I could have possibly too the torching process too far as well. As I stated, I’m not sure what type of metal this club head is made from so there are many variables in my case. -here’s a better look at some of the textures I am speaking of and color 

[oneaugusta]

Probably would have soaked in acetone before any prep was done to remove paint. Just not sure what chemical reaction happens for a long soak on polished putter. 
You might be right about material too, guessing it’s some type of cast metal and not standard carbon or SS. 

[BigWicks]

I did periodically soak in acetone through the entire process, so who knows exactly what happened. You are definitely right. Regardless, I am happy with the results for now as it is definitely different and I am a bit of a hipster and tinkerer. I am currently waiting on a solid copper milled insert to arrive for this putter as well. I know it’s not a Scotty, but to me this putter is more special than that. If it’s any consolation, John Rahm’s winning putter is an ugly Oddesy that is designed very similar to my Nike putter. Also I want to personally thank you Augusta for keeping this thread alive after 9 years and sharing your knowledge with new people coming into the hobby such as myself. People like you are rare and you show great knowledge, passion, and patience. I know it sounds corny, but genuinely thank you. I have started to be on the look out for and older Scotty or something of similar importance and quality to restore and give new life too. I believe you have sparked a new hobby inside of another hobby of golf for me. 
 

Also if you have any recommendations for what kind of putters I should be on the look out for to repeat this process, please let me know if you are so inclined. Makes, models, materials and so on. Thank you again. 

[oneaugusta]

I certainly appreciate the kind words and enjoy others projects as well as my own. Here’s a putter I bought off a member about 6 weeks ago. It had a few nicks and a lot of scratches but nothing to bad. Went though the sanding process, cleaning then polishing and buffing.

I have done insert putters but tend to steer clear of them now as there are to many surprises.  Anything solid carbon or high quality SS usually turns out best. Previously torched putters that were superheated with MAAP gas can be challenging too.  
This one has an new addition to the process that give a more 4k finish that has vibrant and deep color. 

[BigWicks]

Just wanted to give and update. I’ve gamed this putter for a few weeks now and it’s by far my favorite putter I’ve ever rolled. Again, my attempt was not perfect, but MOSTLY following Augusta’s instructions I came out with a product that I love. 

[MichGolf]

I finished this torch job about a week ago. I started getting a little rust on it after getting it reshafted. Is there anything I can do to remove the rust without hurting the finish? 

[oneaugusta]

23 hours ago, MichGolf said:

I finished this torch job about a week ago. I started getting a little rust on it after getting it reshafted. Is there anything I can do to remove the rust without hurting the finish? 

I take it you didn’t oil it after torching? Only option is to use maybe some 3 in 1 oil and try to remove rust with soft cloth. 

[MichGolf]

I used baby oil and heavily wiped it down after 10 minutes then wrapped it in an oil soaked wrag after 2 hours and left it overnight. 

 

What kind of 3-in-1 oil? 

[oneaugusta]

Not sure why it would rust if you oiled but the 3 in 1 might help

[Belltower]

On 5/6/2023 at 5:56 PM, oneaugusta said:

I certainly appreciate the kind words and enjoy others projects as well as my own. Here’s a putter I bought off a member about 6 weeks ago. It had a few nicks and a lot of scratches but nothing to bad. Went though the sanding process, cleaning then polishing and buffing.

I have done insert putters but tend to steer clear of them now as there are to many surprises.  Anything solid carbon or high quality SS usually turns out best. Previously torched putters that were superheated with MAAP gas can be challenging too.  
This one has an new addition to the process that give a more 4k finish that has vibrant and deep color. 

Care to share what this latest addition to the process was?

 

Also, wanted to thank you again for sharing this wealth of knowledge with all of us.  I have been refinishing putters for the past few years and I will say there were some things mentioned here that I have never done. Anxious to see how they improve the overall product.  

 

One big question i have.  If you are eventually going to polish with Simichrome and buff with jewelers rouge, why hand sand and not just sandblast? Do you need to hand sand to a higher sheen prior to polishing and buffing to achieve a more polished finish in the end?

Edited April 30 by Belltower

[oneaugusta]

Really want to keep to myself but will tell you putter must be super smooth and polished to get vibrant color. Will not happen with sandblasting. I have gotten good results with super smooth first , polish the use fine scotchbrite while running under water (one direction) only with light pressure. This will the reduce high polish and reduce glare. Would call this semi-gloss

Edited May 1 by oneaugusta

[Belltower]

Appreciate the response and will certainly respect your secret.  Would you be able to briefly talk about the roles of sanding/polishing/buffing etc.? I think I have realized via studying this thread that i have perhaps mistaken them for being all various stages/sheens within the same process. However, it is clear that you use each of them for a different result in the process.

 

For some further clarity, I would say that I am rarely looking to achieve the colors discussed in this thread, although i want to be able to create it when the client calls for it. But i think that i can still adapt some of these more detailed steps in the process into my more "normal" torch jobs (i.e. lower sheen, more muted end of the color spectrum).  For instance, if you were going for a chocolate brown satin finish (something that is frequently requested) would you still polish and/or buff after sandblasting?

[oneaugusta]

I have done a few putters with PVD finish and sandblasting will remove PVD but to get a good even finish I did sand smooth, polish several times and then buff.  I suppose you could try just polishing to remove the oxidation and then torch but color spectrum would be minimal.  You might get a medium brown?

 

Bottom line if you don't get smooth and oxidation removed you will get poor results with a finish that will fade quickly and be uneven.